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A 


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JAPANESE  LIFE 
IN  TOWN  ® 

COUNTRY 

& 

GEORGE  WILLIAM  KNOX 


Division 


DS8ei 
. K68 


Section 


I 


OUR  EUROPEAN  NEIGHBOURS 


French  Life 

German  Life 
Russian  Life 

Dutch  Life 

Swiss  Life 

Spanish  Life 

Italian  Life 

Danish  Life 

Austro-Hungarian  Life 
Turkish  Life 

Belgian  Life 

Swedish  Life 


OUR  ASIATIC 
NEIGHBOURS 


JAPANESE  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND 
COUNTRY 


THE  ENTRANCE  TO  THE  IMPERIAL  GARDENS,  TOKYO. 


Copyright,  1904 

BY 

G.  P.  PUTNAM’S  SONS 


Published,  October,  1904 

Reprinted,  December,  1904;  February,  1905;  July,  1905 
September,  iqo8 


JZbc  ftntcfeerbocfeer  Hew  Borfc 


TO  MY  WIFE 


WITH  MEMORIES  OF  FIFTEEN  HAPPY  YEARS  IN 


DAI  NIPPON 


By  permission  I have  used  in  this  volume, 
chapters  vii.,  ix.,  and  x.,  portions  of  my  transla- 
tions from  Japanese  books  which  have  been 
printed  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Asiatic  Society 
of  fapan , and,  chapter  viii.,  in  The  Independent. 
Acknowledgments  are  due  also  to  the  Rev.  C. 
R.  Gillett,  D.D.,  Iy.H.D.,  for  assistance  in  read- 
ing the  proofs. 


G.  W.  K. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I 

PAGE 

Introductory— The  Point  of  View  . . . i 

CHAPTER  II 

The  Tradition io 

CHAPTER  III 

Asiatic  Civilisation 18 

CHAPTER  IV 


The  Feudal  Wars 25 

CHAPTER  V 

The  Awakening 38 

CHAPTER  VI 

Buddhism  : The  Religion  of  the  Common 
People 62 


CHAPTER  VII 

Confucianism  : The  Religion  of  Educated 

Men 80 


IX 


X 


Contents 


CHAPTER  VIII 

PAGE 

Philosophy  for  the  People  . . . .105 

CHAPTER  IX 

The  Way  of  the  “Samurai”  . . . .121 

CHAPTER  X 

The  Life  of  the  “ Samurai  ” in  Old  Japan  . 139 

CHAPTER  XI 

The  Life  of  the  “Samurai,”  in  Niw  Japan  . 154 

CHAPTER  XII 

The  Common  People  : Farmers,  Artisans  and 


Artists 184 

CHAPTER  XIII 

Merchants,  Women,  and  Servants;  . . . 198 

CHAPTER  XIV 

Language,  Literature,  and  EducaFion  . . 233 

CHAPTER  XV 

Tokyo 252 

Index 269 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 


The  Entrance  to  the  Imperial  Gardens, 
Tokyo  Frontispiece 

The  Home  of  a Buddhist  Monk,  Tenanted  by 
Foreigners  ......  6 

Dancing  Girds,  Sixteenth  Century,  Court  of 

Hideyoshi 30 

The  Approach  To  the  Shrine,  Nikko  . . 64 

Interior  of  a Temple  in  Nikko  ...  72 

At  Dinner 92 

Crossing  the  Mountains no 

A Tea  House,  Middle  Class  Women  . .126 

In  the  Palace  of  the  Shogun,  Yedo  . . 146 

A Stubby  Pony,  Shod  with  Straw  and  Daden 

with  Country  Products  . . . .160 

A Farce,  before  the  Wife  of  the  Shogun  . 168 

Peasants  Transplanting  Rice  ....  186 

A Pilgrim  to  Mt.  Fuji 188 


XI 


xii  Illustrations 

PAGE 

Massage 208 

Wrestlers,  Waiting  for  the  Signae  . . 214 

A Resting  Peace  in  the  Mountains  . . 230 


The  Prince  of  Mito  Corrects  a Statement 
in  the  History 244 

The  Moat  where  the  Lotus  Grew  . . 254 

The  Paeace  in  Kyoto 264 

Map  of  Japan  At  End 


JAPANESE  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND 
COUNTRY 


JAPANESE  LIFE  IN  TOWN 
AND  COUNTRY 


UR  neighbours  on  the  west,  separated  from 


us  by  the  widest  ocean,  are  separated  from 
us  also  most  completely  by  race,  environment, 
and  history.  It  becomes  an  axiom,  repeated  by 
travellers  and  enforced  by  scholars,  that  the  Occi- 
dental cannot  understand  the  Oriental.  How, 
then,  shall  we  of  the  extreme  West  understand  the 
farthest  Bast?  The  current  phrase  in  Japan  has 
it  that  the  longer  one  is  there  the  less  does  he  know 
of  the  land  and  the  people,  the  old  resident  confess- 
ing ignorance  and  leaving  confident  judgments  to 
the  newcomer.  The  confession  may  be  the  mod- 
est expression  of  the  scholar  who  with  growing 
knowledge  is  increasingly  aware  that  he  is  master 
of  only  a fraction  of  his  subject,  or  more  likely 
it  is  the  outcome  of  indolence  and  impatience,  an 


CHAPTER  I 


INTRODUCTORY — THE}  POINT  OF  VIE}W 


2 


Japanese  Life 

indolence  which,  finding  first  impressions  wrong, 
is  unwilling  to  take  the  pains  necessary  to  master 
the  data  for  a mature  and  correct  opinion,  and  the 
impatience  which  arises  from  disappointment  as 
the  charm  of  the  beginning  yields  to  the  dis- 
illusionment of  a prolonged  residence.  Thus  is 
created  a belief  that  an  inherent  unlikeness  in 
psychology  differentiates  European  from  Asiatic. 

The  axiom  is  supported  by  wide  experience, 
the  differences  in  judgment  being  extraordinary, 
and  seemingly  permanent.  Japan,  for  example, 
is  the  delight  of  tourists;  its  art,  its  customs,  its 
scenery,  its  people  have  a charm  to  which  all 
but  the  exceptionally  unresponsive  traveller  yield. 
When  after  its  long  seclusion  it  was  once  more 
accessible  it  was  like  the  apparition  of  another 
world.  Even  now,  when  so  much  is  changed,  the 
novelty  remains,  and  besides,  the  very  transforma- 
tion affects  us  like  a fairy  tale.  The  novelty,  and 
mystery,  and  romance  are  the  joy  of  the  traveller, 
and  he  has  no  wish  that  the  fairy  tale  be  trans- 
lated into  the  language  of  every  day,  nor  that 
Japan  be  shown  to  be  only  a portion  of  our  prosaic 
and  commonplace  world. 

When,  however,  he  decides  to  dwell  in  Japan 
his  point  of  view  changes.  The  picturesque 
ceases  to  fascinate,  the  novelty  wears  off,  the 
climate  is  enervating  and  productive  of  discomfort 
and  disease;  the  beauty  of  mountain  and  plain  no 
longer  so  appeal  to  him  as  he  thinks  them  the 
product  of  a ceaseless  seismic  activity  (the  more 


The  Point  of  View 


3 


one  knows  of  earthquakes  the  less  one  likes  them); 
the  politeness  appears  superficial  and  insincere, 
and  business  relations  leave  everything  to  be  de- 
sired. He  prefers  China,  where  one  can  trust  the 
merchants,  or  almost  any  land  east  or  west.  He 
lives,  in  the  foreign  settlements,  in  an  atmosphere 
charged  with  hostility  to  the  “ natives,”  and  the 
longer  he  remains  the  less  can  he  sympathise  with 
the  enthusiasm  of  travellers.  He  thinks  them 
mere  visitors  at  an  elaborate  play,  while  he  lives 
behind  the  scenes. 

Of  course  the  difference  is  in  the  point  of  view. 
Japan  is  strikingly  unlike  the  West,  and  this  con- 
stitutes its  charm  to  the  tourist  and  its  offence  to 
the  resident.  Its  standards  of  life  differ  from  our 
own  as  does  its  scenery  from  that  of  our  American 
plains,  and  the  differences  in  etiquette,  in  ethics, 
in  business  methods,  in  religion,  and  in  general 
in  views  of  life,  cause  clashes  which  are  unpleas- 
ant and  may  be  disastrous.  Hence,  if  one  would 
hear  the  most  unflattering  account  of  the  Japanese, 
he  should  listen  to  residents  of  long  standing  who 
may  be  supposed  to  speak  with  authority. 

Nor  is  public  opinion  among  foreign  residents 
much  influenced  by  the  convictions  of  a few  who 
have  gone  over  completely  to  the  Japanese  ways 
of  life,  and  use,  with  the  zeal  of  proselytes,  their 
views  of  the  superiority  of  Japanese  art,  morality, 
women,  and  religion  to  disparage  the  civilisation 
they  have  renounced.  To  the  average  resident 
such  men  live  in  a dreamland  of  their  own,  and 


4 


Japanese  Life 

not  in  the  real  Japan  of  broken  contracts,  trials, 
constant  disappointments,  endless  postponements, 
and  general  disillusionment.  The  few  in  their 
turn  retort  that  they  only  penetrate  the  heart  of 
things,  and  that  if  the  majority  does  not  agree  the 
fact  is  immaterial,  and  merely  shows  an  inability 
to  see  and  an  incapacity  to  understand. 

A fourth  opinion  is  possible,  when  Japan  is  no 
longer  judged  by  its  possibilities  for  furnishing 
new  sensations,  nor  by  our  standards  and  its  ca- 
pacity to  minister  to  our  gain  and  needs,  nor  as 
an  Oriental  paradise  where  artistic  and  poetic 
fancies  are  realised,  but  as  a part  of  our  common 
humanity;  or  better,  when  it  is  not  judged  at  all, 
but  is  studied  that  it  may  be  understood.  Such  a 
purpose  can  be  formed  only  as  we  surrender  our 
axiom,  for  if  the  West  cannot  understand  the  East 
that  is  the  end  of  it;  but  at  least  the  axiom  can  be 
accepted  only  when  it  is  proved,  and  we  may  bet- 
ter begin  with  the  more  ancient  phrase  that  no- 
thing human  is  foreign  to  us. 

There  was  a time  when  Japan  was  enveloped 
in  mystery  and  when  ignorance  was  pardonable. 
For  a decade  and  more  after  the  “ open  ports” 
were  thronged  with  foreigners,  and  the  Powers 
had  their  representatives  diplomatic  and  consular, 
and  the  missionary  societies  were  numerously 
represented,  all  — merchants,  diplomatists,  and 
missionaries — were  dealing  with  unknown  quanti- 
ties. Naturally  grotesque  blunders  and  serious 
errors  were  made,  the  Japanese  understanding  us 


The  Point  of  View 


5 


as  little  as  we  understood  them.  But  a generation 
has  passed  and  the  puzzles  have  been  solved.  The 
language  is  known  in  all  its  forms,  in  its  literary 
development  and  in  its  relation  to  its  cognates;  the 
literature  has  been  read,  the  philosophy  studied, 
and  the  history  investigated;  the  religion  in  its 
various  forms  is  understood,  the  art  has  been 
sympathetically  appreciated  and  assigned  its 
place;  the  social  organisation,  the  political  forma- 
tion, the  multitudinous  facts  bearing  upon  the 
life  of  the  people  have  been  set  forth,  discussed, 
tested,  and,  more  or  less,  submitted  to  the  methods 
of  modern  science.  Moreover,  men  of  intelligence 
have  lived  for  years  in  intimate  association  with 
representative  members  of  all  classes  of  society 
and  have  reported  their  observations.  As  a re- 
sult, Japan  is  known  to  those  who  would  study  it 
as  it  has  never  been  known  to  its  own  people  in 
the  past.  It  would  seem  then  an  affected  humility 
to  profess  that  the  West  cannot  understand  the 
Bast,  for  in  all  these  results  there  is  nothing  in- 
scrutable, nothing  even  mysterious,  nothing  to 
lead  us  to  conclude  that  the  Japanese  are  other 
than  men  of  like  passions  with  ourselves  but 
formed  in  a different  environment  and  educated 
in  a different  atmosphere. 

From  this  point  of  view  indeed  one  may  hesitate 
to  express  confident  opinions  about  “ the  Japan- 
ese,” for  the  people  are  no  longer  seen  en  masse , 
and  among  individuals  there  are  differences  as 
among  ourselves.  We  are  often  asked,  “ Do  you 


6 


Japanese  Life 

like  the  Japanese?  ” and  the  answer  can  be  only, 
“ Yes  and  no.  Some  we  like  and  some  we  dis- 
like.” “Are  they  trustworthy?”  “Yes  and 
no.  As  with  other  folk,  some  we  trust  and  some 
we  doubt.”  “Are  they  true  friends  ? ” “Again, 
yes  and  no.  As  everywhere,  we  have  many  ac- 
quaintances and  a few  true  friends.”  Who  can 
answer  such  questions  in  truthful  generalisations  ? 
How  we  differ  in  our  judgments  of  Americans  or 
Englishmen,  and  how  insufficient  in  all  cases  are 
our  data  as  we  attempt  on  the  basis  of  our  narrow 
experience  to  describe  the  characteristics  of  a 
people! 

Of  course  no  foreigner  sees  a people  as  they  see 
themselves.  He  remains  on  the  outside  after  all 
and  carries  a double  standard.  L,et  him  be  as 
sympathetic  as  he  will,  still  he  is  not  full  partici- 
pator in  it  all,  but  remains  to  some  extent  a spec- 
tator, his  centre  of  reality  not  quite  coincident 
with  theirs,  so  that  an  element  of  illusion  remains. 
Possibly  this  is  less  of  a disturbing  element  in  our 
judgment  of  the  Japanese,  since  they  for  a genera- 
tion have  sought  foreign  criticism  and  judge  their 
own  performances  by  their  reflection  in  foreign 
minds. 

Common  opinion  seems  to  have  decided  certain 
points,  and  a brief  reference  should  be  made  to 
them.  It  is  agreed  that  the  Chinese  excel  in 
commercial  honesty,  and  that  the  Japanese  excel 
in  patriotism  and  in  soldierly  qualities.  The 
difference  is  incontestable  and  the  reason  is  not 


THE  HOME  OF  A BUDDHIST  MONK.  TENANTED  BY  FOREIGNERS. 


The  Point  of  View 


7 


far  to  seek.  China  has  been  for  milleninums  a 
peace-loving,  commercial  nation,  and  it  has  de- 
veloped a corresponding  ethical  and  social  code. 
Japan  up  to  our  own  days  has  been  feudal,  dis- 
daining trade,  with  the  loyalty,  sense  of  honour, 
and  morality  of  mediaeval  Europe,  of  communities 
everywhere  in  which  war  is  normal  and  the  soldier 
chief  in  position  and  repute.  Would  we  judge 
the  Japanese  we  should  look  at  them  through  the 
eyes  of  a Scottish  clansman  of  two  hundred  years 
ago.  The  feudal  constitution  has  passed  away, 
but  not  the  habits  and  the  morals  which  were  asso- 
ciated with  it,  so  much  more  easy  is  it  to  change 
the  outward  form  than  the  inner  life.  So  our 
merchants  praise  the  Chinese  and  our  soldiers 
admire  the  Japanese.  Again,  all  agree  that  the 
relations  between  the  sexes  do  not  conform  to 
high  ideals,  that  is,  to  our  ideals.  Neither  Con- 
fucianism nor  Buddhism  did  for  woman  what 
Christianity  has  accomplished  for  her,  nor  does 
there  appear  in  the  Japanese  a strain  of  blood  like 
the  German  or  the  Hebrew.  The  whole  develop- 
ment has  been  profoundly  different,  so  that  to  find 
a parallel  we  must  go  quite  outside  our  historic 
line  and  turn,  say,  to  ancient  Greece.  Then  we 
shall  have  a truer  standard  and  our  j udgment  will 
be,  if  no  less  severe,  yet  more  in  accordance  with 
all  the  facts. 

The  conflict  with  Russia  has  brought  Japan 
into  the  centre  of  Occidental  attention.  In  our 
superficial  way  we  have  classed  Asiatics  together, 


8 


Japanese  Life 

and  we  have  assumed  our  own  superiority.  It 
has  seemed  a fact,  proved  by  centuries  of  inter- 
course and  generations  of  conquest,  that  the  Bast 
lacks  the  power  of  organisation,  of  attention  to 
details,  and  of  mastery  over  complicated  ma- 
chinery. Japan  upsets  our  deduction  by  showing 
its  equality  in  these  matters,  and,  on  the  final 
appeal,  by  putting  itself  into  the  first  rank  of 
nations.  For  the  time,  the  judgment  of  tourists 
and  merchants  seems  at  fault,  and  we  ask  the  ex- 
planation of  the  phenomenon.  Here  is  a people, 
undoubtedly  Asiatic,  which  shows  that  it  can 
master  the  science  and  the  methods  of  the  West. 
Can  it  be  that  we  are  less  able  to  understand 
them,  and  to  set  forth  the  reason  why  they  have 
proved  themselves  our  equals  in  fields  we  had 
thought  exclusively  our  own  ? 

Of  this  we  are  assured,  we  can  see  them  as  they 
are  only  as  we  know  the  sources  of  their  life,  their 
history,  the  ideals  which  have  ruled  them,  and 
the  discipline  which  has  trained  them.  In  a 
study  of  European  nations  we  can  take  these 
things  for  granted,  as  they  are  of  our  race,  with 
the  same  traditions,  social  order,  religion,  and,  in 
part,  literature.  Our  differences  are  superficial,  so 
that  we  can  begin  at  once  with  the  conditions  and 
expression  of  ordinary  life.  But  in  Japan  all  is 
different,  and  we  must  go  deeper  if  we  would 
understand  the  things  we  see.  We  must  learn 
the  formative  influences  of  the  past,  glancing  at 
the  history,  traditions,  social  organisation,  ethical 


The  Point  of  View 


9 


codes,  and  religious  spirit  which  constitute  so 
largely  man’s  experience.  With  this  knowledge 
of  the  people  we  shall  understand  them  as  we 
mingle  with  them  in  the  intercourse  of  every  day; 
without  it  we  shall  simply  add  further  proof  to 
the  misleading  statement  that  the  West  can  never 
understand  the  East. 

L,et  us  begin  then  with  a review  of  the  traditions 
and  the  history,  although  thus  we  repeat  a more 
than  thrice- told  tale. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  TRADITION 

THE  Japanese  tradition  relates  the  formation 
of  the  islands  and  the  origin  of  the  race, 
the  former  crystals  from  the  point  of  the  Creator’s 
spear,  and  the  latter  the  descendants  of  the  gods. 
Iconoclastic  science  shows  the  lands  to  be  of  vol- 
canic origin,  rising  out  of  the  Pacific,  and  the 
people  to  be  Mongolians  who  came  from  the  con- 
tinent of  Asia  in  successive  waves  of  immigration. 
How  long  ago  they  came  we  do  not  know,  for  in 
their  earliest  memories  their  migrations  were  al- 
ready long  since  forgotten,  and  no  traces  of  them 
can  be  found  in  the  greatly  older  records  of  China. 
But  already,  as  always  with  the  oldest  families, 
others  had  preceded  them  and  were  in  possession, 
the  non-Mongolian  race  called  Ainu,  these  in 
their  turn  having  been  preceded  by  still  earlier 
settlers,  who  doubtless  in  their  time  made  a dwell- 
ing-place for  themselves  by  dispossessing  prede- 
cessors. The  Japanese  followed  the  good  old 
rule, 

. . . “ the  simple  plan, 

That  they  should  take  who  have  the  power, 

And  they  should  keep  who  can,” 


io 


The  Tradition 


ii 

so  that  wars  ensued  for  centuries,  perhaps  for  mill- 
enniums, the  Ainu  mixing  sparingly  and  ineffec- 
tively with  the  latest  invaders  and  being  pushed 
gradually  eastward  and  northward  until  at  last 
they  left  the  main  island  for  Yezo,  where  a scanty 
remnant  still  remains,  conquered  but  unabsorbed 
and  unassimilated,  their  ancient  ferocity  subdued, 
and  content  if  their  simple  life  can  furnish  means 
for  existence  and  liquor  in  abundance  for  feasts, 
a people  without  history  or  hope. 

Language  allies  the  Japanese  with  a group  of 
peoples  of  whom  they  are  chief,  the  others  living 
in  the  chain  of  little  islands  stretching  southward 
towards  Formosa,  and,  on  the  continent,  in  Korea. 
The  same  evidence  separates  them  widely  from 
the  Chinese,  for  though  all  are  classed  as  Mon- 
golians and  we  in  our  superior  way  think  all 
Mongolians  one,  yet  the  languages  are  wholly 
distinct,  in  no  respect  more  akin  than  are  Hebrew 
and  English.  If  the  two  peoples  ever  were  one,  it 
was  in  some  far-away  place  and  time  which  we  are 
powerless  to  name.  The  Japanese,  in  any  case, 
in  remote  antiquity,  travelled  east  until  farther 
they  could  not  go,  and  then  they  conquered  the 
Ainu  and  occupied  their  land. 

Remote  as  were  their  migrations,  their  records 
are  comparatively  recent.  The  traditions  were 
first  written  down  in  712  A.D.,  and  the  volume 
constitutes  the  first  book  written  in  their  tongue, 
Ko- Ji-K  i;  the  Records  of  A ncient  Matters.  The  very 
islands,  according  to  one  legend,  were  begotten 


12 


Japanese  Life 

by  the  divinities,  and  by  and  by  after  many 
stories  of  the  gods  in  Heaven,  Earth,  and  Hades, 
the  ancestors  of  the  emperor  came  down  from 
heaven.  Indeed,  the  distinction  between  heaven 
and  earth  was  not  great,  for  the  two  had  features 
of  the  same  kind  and  were  connected  by  a ladder, 
and  an  ‘ ‘ arrow  shot  from  earth  could  reach  heaven 
and  make  a hole  in  it.”  Up  and  down  the  ladder 
went  beings,  far  other  than  those  Jacob  saw,  hav- 
ing strange  adventures.  Of  one  ‘ 4 we  learn  of  his 
conversations  with  a hare  and  with  a mouse,  of 
the  prowess  and  cleverness  he  displayed  on  the 
occasion  of  a visit  to  his  ancestor  in  Hades,  of  his 
amours,  of  his  triumphs  over  his  eighty  brethren, 
of  his  reconciliation  with  his  jealous  empress,  and 
of  his  numerous  descendants.”  His  name,  Angli- 
cised, was  the  44  Impetuous  Male  Deity,”  and  he 
was  given  dominion  over  the  sea,  which,  however, 
he  never  tries  to  control,  but  “ afterwards  appears 
as  the  capricious  and  filthy  deity  of  Hades,  who, 
however,  seems  to  retain  some  control  over  the 
land  of  the  living  as  he  invests  his  descendant 
of  the  sixth  generation  with  the  sovereignty  of 
Japan.”  But  this  descendant,  whose  adventures 
were  almost  as  remarkable  as  those  of  his  ancestor, 
was  ultimately  deposed  and  became  himself  a god. 
Another  descendant  of  the  gods,  perhaps  of  the 
Impetuous  Male,  perhaps  of  the  Sun-goddess,  the 
history  leaving  us  in  doubt,  became  the  first  ‘‘his- 
toric emperor.”  Those  who  would  pursue  the 
story  in  detail  must  be  referred  to  Mr.  Chamber- 


The  Tradition 


13 


Iain’s  admirable  translation,  where  they  will  learn 
how  the  connection  with  heaven  was  broken  off 
and  how  it  comes  a descendant  of  the  deities  still 
occupies  the  Imperial  throne.  The  modern 
Japanese  are  content  with  the  date  assigned  to 
Jimmu  Tenno,  660  b.c.,  as  the  beginning  of  his- 
tory, but  Western  scholars  are  sceptical.  Jimmu 
had  adventures  of  his  own,  meeting  people  with 
tails,  getting  a crossbow  from  heaven,  being 
guided  by  a crow  eight  feet  in  length,  and  marry- 
ing the  daughter  of  a god.  He  died  full  of  years, 
an  hundred  and  thirty-seven  years  old.  After  his 
death  troubles  ensued  which  are  briefly  narrated, 
and  then  for  five  hundred  years  there  are  simple 
genealogies,  with  a list  of  sovereigns  noteworthy 
for  nothing  but  the  extraordinary  length  of  their 
reigns.  When  details  are  again  given  it  is  in 
the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era,  and  they 
are  chiefly  marvels.  Indeed,  the  empress  (named 
Jingo)  who  conquered  Korea  in  the  third  century 
a.d.  was  aided  by  “ fishes  both  small  and  great 
and  by  a miraculous  wave,  and  not  until  the  be- 
ginning of  the  fifth  century  a.d.  do  the  wonders 
cease.” 

From  these  Records  of  Ancient  Matters  Mr. 
Chamberlain  has  reconstructed  for  us  the  outlines 
of  the  primitive  society.  Wooden  huts  with  mud 
floors  and  a low  shelf  running  around  the  room 
on  which  were  spread  mats  and  the  skins  of  beasts, 
were  the  dwellings.  They  had  holes  for  windows, 
doors  hung  on  hinges,  and  were  surrounded  by 


14 


Japanese  Life 

fences.  The  posts  were  held  together  by  vines 
and  thongs,  the  smoke  from  the  fire  finding  its 
way  out  as  best  it  could.  There  were  conveniences 
which  surprise  us  and  lead  us  to  expect  a delicacy 
and  a decency  unusual  in  so  low  a stage  of  social 
development,  an  expectation  unhappily  disap- 
pointed as  the  narrative  proceeds.  Iron  was  in 
common  use,  with  silver,  gold,  and  bronze  as 
curiosities  from  foreign  lands.  Food  was  chiefly 
fish,  rice,  and  game,  with  vegetables,  grains,  and 
fruits.  Sake  made  from  rice  was  the  intoxicating 
drink.  Hempen  cloth,  the  bark  of  the  paper  mul- 
berry, skins,  straw,  and  the  tendrils  of  creeping 
plants  furnished  material  for  clothes.  Naturally 
there  were  no  schools  before  books,  and  education 
was  confined  to  practice  with  bows  and  arrows. 
We  read  of  hunting,  fishing,  and  war,  but  not  of 
commerce,  or  money,  or  trades.  Only  a love  of 
bathing  and  a certain  artistic  gift  identify  the  life 
with  the  civilisation  of  later  days. 

Marriage  was  a matter  of  little  ceremony  or  of 
none,  and  sister  and  wife  were  designated  by  the 
same  word.  A man  might  have  one  wife  or 
three,  and  divorce  was  at  his  will.  In  such  a 
primitive  society  we  should  not  look  for  language 
or  conduct  in  accordance  with  our  standards,  and 
there  was  an  entire  unconsciousness  of  impropri- 
ety even  in  “a  shocking  obscenity  of  word  and 
deed.” 

When  a man  died  his  hut  was  deserted  and  his 
clothing  and  ornaments  were  buried  with  the 


The  Tradition 


15 


corpse,  a custom  magnified  on  the  death  of  a ruler 
to  the  desertion  of  the  capital  and  the  burying  of 
servants  alive.  After  a time  images  were  buried 
as  substitutes,  and  with  the  coming  of  a more 
elaborate  architecture  the  other  custom  fell  into 
disuse. 

The  gods  were  as  rude  as  the  men;  some  were 
good  and  some  were  bad;  some  had  tails;  some 
lived  in  heaven,  some  on  earth,  some  in  Hades, 
and  some  divided  their  time  between  the  three. 
There  were  gods  of  the  sun  and  moon  and  rivers 
and  seas;  of  utensils,  of  the  kitchen,  of  the  earth; 
gods  innumerable.  The  Sun-goddess  hid  in  a cave 
and  was  enticed  out  through  her  jealous  curiosity; 
other  gods  had  human  wives  and  adventures  in- 
coherent, silly,  and  worse.  Some  of  the  gods  are 
deifications  of  nature’s  powers,  and  some  are  pos- 
sibly formed  from  the  dim,  exaggerated  traditions 
of  heroes,  but  most  of  the  stories  are  dull,  or  re- 
volting, and  only  a few  merit  repetition.  They 
are  in  two  cycles  loosely  connected,  without  real 
unity,  and  doubtless  of  very  diverse  origin.  The 
worship  of  ancestors  was  not  a part  of  the  tradition 
or  of  the  religion. 

There  are  none  of  the  common  stories  of  our 
Western  races,  of  a “ fall  of  man,”  an  Eden,  a 
flood.  As  we  should  expect,  there  is  no  doctrine 
and  no  ethics  nor  any  trace  of  a monotheistic  be- 
lief. Diverse  superstitions  and  a belief  in  dreams 
and  divinations  prevailed,  with  prayers  and  offer- 
ings and  hymns  to  the  gods.  The  temples  were 


i6 


Japanese  Life 


ordinary  huts  without  images  or  adornments,  and 
the  priests  were  men  with  a special  function  added 
to  their  ordinary  avocations.  But  there  were  no 
sacrifices,  excepting  sometimes  in  extremity  the 
offering  up  of  life,  and  no  belief  in  a future  state 
of  rewards  and  punishments,  nor  in  transmigra- 
tion. Purifications  by  water  were  the  chief 
rites. 

The  government  was  by  the  rule  of  petty  chiefs, 
and  only  after  centuries  was  centralisation  effected. 
The  Emperor  long  lived  with  his  people  and  was 
little  distinguished  from  them.  Punishments 
were  savagely  cruel,  and  terribly  revolting  pun- 
ishments remained  even  after  the  introduction  of 
more  formal  law — the  Chinese  system  involving 
the  whole  family  in  the  guilt  of  a single  member. 
Early  Japan  is  not  attractive,  for  its  Records  of 
Ancient  Matters  make  sombre  pictures,  but  so  is 
it  ever  with  descriptions  of  primitive  peoples. 
The  vital  question  is  whether  a race  can  survive 
contact  with  a superior  civilisation.  Shall  it  con- 
tract only  vices  and  perish  in  consequence,  or  shall 
it  mingle  with  its  conquerors  and  lose  its  identity, 
or  like  the  Ainu  shall  it  offer  a dull  resistance  so 
that  in  the  midst  of  progress  it  shall  remain  un- 
changed? The  fit  survive,  adopting  the  new 
civilisation,  adapting  and  improving  it,  and  in 
turn  becoming  contributors  to  the  progress  of  the 
world.  Such  a process  constitutes  the  history  of 
Japan.  The  race  was  active,  self-reliant,  eager, 
emotional,  easily  moved  by  the  marvellous,  and 


The  Tradition 


17 


ready  to  adopt  the  wonderful  and  the  novel  as  its 
own,  yet  with  its  distinct  characteristics  which  it 
could  not  lose,  but  must  impress  on  its  new  posses- 
sions. Such  were  the  Japanese  in  the  beginning, 
and  so  they  remain  in  our  day. 

2 


CHAPTER  III 

ASIATIC  CIVILISATION 

WHITE  Japan  was  still  barbarous,  China 
was  highly  civilised.  Of  the  beginnings 
and  growth  of  its  civilisation  we  have  no  records 
and  we  are  unable  to  reconstruct  the  process.  In 
the  days  of  Confucius,  the  sixth  century  b.c.,  the 
people  lived  much  as  their  descendants  live  to- 
day, and  Confucius  professed  to  be  a transmitter, 
and  not  an  originator.  We  are  probably  within 
the  bounds  of  sober  historical  statement  if  we  as- 
sert that  in  the  twelfth  century  B.c.  the  constitu- 
tion of  Chinese  society  was  already  formed  in  its 
essential  features  as  it  now  endures.  In  any  case, 
no  other  existing  society  can  dispute  with  it  in 
claims  of  an  unbroken  historical  continuity  and 
of  high  antiquity.  Already,  in  those  remote  ages, 
China  to  itself  was  the  world,  the  centre  of  en- 
lightenment, and  surrounded  only  by  a fringe  of 
barbarians.  Self-centred,  and  cut  off  by  impass- 
able barriers  of  mountains,  deserts,  and  seas  from 
other  civilisations,  it  lived  its  own  life  until  its 
institutions  crystallised  and  its  people  identified 
18 


Asiatic  Civilisation 


19 


them  with  the  laws  of  nature  itself.  The  thor- 
oughgoing conservatism  which  seems  a part  of 
the  Chinese  people  was  thus  acquired,  for  in  the 
earlier  periods  of  its  history  it  showed  itself  re- 
sponsive to  influences  from  abroad,  as  individuals 
still  yield  readily  and  completely  to  a foreign  en- 
vironment. Yet,  as  a whole,  never  has  any  other 
people  been  so  true  to  the  spirit  and  the  manners 
of  the  remote  past,  and  nowhere  else  has  so  great 
a multitude  been  so  homogeneous.  China  has 
been  conquered  repeatedly  by  foreign  invaders, 
but  the  native  tradition  has  always  imposed  itself 
upon  the  conquerors. 

The  chief  exception  would  seem  to  be  in  the 
sphere  of  religion.  Confucianism  aimed  chiefly 
at  polity,  and  its  ideal  was  the  high-minded  and 
philosophical  statesman.  It  never  in  its  pure 
form  satisfied  the  religious  longings  of  the  people. 
Hence  Buddhism,  brought  from  India,  was  wel- 
comed by  the  masses,  and  in  the  year  a.d.  45  it 
received  the  Imperial  sanction.  It  managed  to 
adopt  the  Confucian  ethics  as  its  own,  forming  a 
composite  which  clear-sighted  criticism  later  on 
was  to  destroy,  and  it  made  a deep  impression  for 
a thousand  years  upon  the  literature,  philosophy, 
art,  and  social  life  of  the  Chinese.  It  was  not  the 
relatively  simple  Buddhism  of  Gautama,  but  the 
elaborate,  metaphysical,  theological,  mythologi- 
cal, sectarian  Buddhism  of  the  Northern  School, 
the  result  of  centuries  of  discussion  and  of  the 
mingling  of  elements  from  most  diverse  sources, 


20  Japanese  Life 

China  making  modifications  and  additions  of  its 
own. 

This  form  of  Buddhism  furnished  the  impulse 
from  which  came  the  transformation  of  Japan. 
It  has  been  China’s  opposite  — unconquered  by 
arms,  it  has  been  the  willing  and  ready  captive  of 
civilising  influences  from  abroad.  How  early  it 
felt  the  influence  of  China  we  do  not  know,  for 
the  Records  of  Ancient  Matters  show  many  points 
of  contact  and  even  in  the  earliest  traditions  traces 
can  be  detected.  But  from  the  sixth  century  of 
our  era  the  influence  was  direct  and  transforming. 
Our  earliest  certain  date  in  Japan  is  a.d.  552, 
when  Buddhist  missionaries  from  Korea  entered 
the  empire.  Thenceforward  came  a succession 
of  artists  and  scholars  and  priests  who  were  wel- 
comed, given  high  position,  and  identified  with 
the  people.  Japanese  in  turn  visited  China,  and, 
clear-sighted  observers  and  quick  learners,  they 
returned  enriched  with  the  spoils  of  foreign  travel 
and  eager  to  communicate  their  wealth  to  their 
countrymen. 

Naturally,  the  aristocracy  first  profited  by  this 
intercourse.  The  Court  accepted  the  teaching  of 
the  strangers  without  distrust,  and  only  in  a 
single  instance  was  there  revolutionary  reaction, 
and  this  because  of  an  outburst  of  superstition 
caused  by  the  prevalence  of  a plague.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  was  no  suspicion  that  the  for- 
eigners desired  to  rule,  or  that  a religious  propa- 
gandism  was  forerunner  of  political  domination. 


Asiatic  Civilisation 


21 


Very  slowly  did  the  new  religion  penetrate  the 
masses,  but  after  centuries  they  were  won  when  a 
clever  priest  taught  them  how  to  combine  the  new 
faith  with  the  old. 

fetters  were  introduced,  that  is  ideographs, 
and  the  Chinese  language.  The  first  book,  our 
Records  of  Ancient  Matters,  was  written  in  a.d. 
712  in  a form  of  Japanese  which  is  now  archaic. 
Another  version  of  the  same  “matters”  was 
brought  out  a few  years  later,  dressed  up  in 
Chinese  style,  with  Chinese  philosophy  inter- 
woven with  the  stories  of  the  gods  and  rhetorical 
Chinese  speeches  put  into  their  mouths.  Chinese 
became  the  language  of  scholarship,  so  that  edu- 
cation meant  its  mastery.  The  native  language, 
however,  never  completely  yielded,  but  imposed 
its  terminations,  its  post-positions,  its  order,  and 
its  syntax  upon  literature,  forming  a curious  com- 
posite result.  Only  a few  very  scholarly  men 
mastered  the  alien  language  so  as  to  write  pure 
Chinese,  and  others  employed  a mixture  which 
never  produced  a literature  truly  great,  but  re- 
mained as  a drag.  The  pure  Japanese  was  left  to 
women,  the  lower  classes,  and  to  certain  schools 
of  antiquarians,  and  it  had  no  Dante  or  Luther  to 
raise  it  to  its  rightful  place  of  dignity  and  useful- 
ness. The  pronunciation  of  Chinese  was  as  bar- 
barous as  the  literary  styles  in  composition,  and 
almost  as  varied,  successive  generations  of  teach- 
ers leaving  successive  fashions  of  pronunciation, 
until  three  are  recognised  and  none  represents 


22  Japanese  Life 

any  understandable  in  China:  like  the  French  of 
the  Prioress: 

“ And  French  she  spake  full  faire  and  fetishly, 

After  the  school  of  Stratford  atte  Bow, 

For  French  of  Paris  was  to  her  unknow. ” 

For  a millennium  the  priesthood  controlled  edu- 
cation, the  schools  being  attached  to  temples.  A 
university  was  established  with  halls  for  music, 
medicine,  and  astrology.  The  course  in  medicine, 
for  example,  included  “materia  medica,  anatomy, 
physiology,  and  the  practice  of  medicine  and  sur- 
gery. Medicinal  plants  were  studied  as  to  their 
forms  and  properties,  whilst  anatomy,  it  would 
seem,  was  taught  by  plates  and  diagrams.  ’ ’ Only 
men  of  specified  rank  were  admitted  to  this  study, 
though  the  fitness  of  women  for  attendance  on 
the  sick  was  recognised.  Charity  hospitals  and 
dispensaries  were  established. 

An  elaborate  and  ornate  architecture  was  intro- 
duced. Temples  built  of  wood  near  Nara  in  the 
eighth  century  remain  as  monuments  of  the  re- 
ligious fervour  and  the  artistic  ability  of  that  re- 
mote age.  Of  neither  can  there  be  doubt.  The 
artistic  nature  of  the  Japanese  people  responded 
at  once  to  the  opportunity  offered  it  by  the  teach- 
ing of  Chinese  art,  and  their  religious  feelings 
embraced  the  foreign  creed  with  enthusiastic  zeal, 
indeed,  with  misguided  zeal,  since  the  secular  arm 
was  called  in  to  punish  doubters,  and  the  people 


Asiatic  Civilisation 


23 


were  compelled  to  accept  Buddhism  by  Imperial 
decree. 

The  government  was  reorganised  and  an  elabo- 
rate official  hierarchy  on  the  Chinese  model  was 
set  up.  The  Emperor  became  the  ‘ ‘ Son  of 
Heaven,”  and  was  removed  from  familiar  contact 
with  the  people,  the  formalities  and  ceremonies 
of  Chinese  life  becoming  naturalised.  L,aws  were 
changed  and  in  place  of  the  rude  systems  of  an- 
cient Japan  the  developed  Chinese  jurisprudence 
with  courts  and  judges  was  adopted,  the  great 
transformation  being  effected  from  barbaric  rule 
to  formal  law. 

It  is  impossible  to  follow  the  story  in  detail,  and 
so  much  is  here  introduced  merely  to  emphasise 
the  fact  that  the  Japanese  of  a thousand  years  ago 
were  essentially  like  the  Japanese  of  to-day,  with 
the  same  receptivity,  the  same  intelligence,  the 
same  appreciation  of  the  higher  good,  and  the 
same  independence  in  adapting  the  importations 
to  their  needs.  The  result,  it  is  true,  was  not 
wholly  good.  As  in  the  case  of  the  language,  the 
natural  development  was  checked  and  a highly 
artificial  product  resulted,  for  the  Chinese  civilisa- 
tion was  too  complete,  too  well  organised,  too  im- 
posing, too  conscious  of  its  own  superiority  and 
finality.  It  could  see  nothing  beyond  itself,  and 
its  mere  imitation  seemed  the  attainment  of 
perfection. 

Life  became  luxurious,  refined,  complex,  with- 
out high  ideals  or  purposes.  A court  lady  of  the 


24 


Japanese  Life 


eleventh  century  has  left  us  a novel  which  pictures 
the  life  of  the  time  when  this  Asiatic  civilisation 
was  at  its  climax,  a book  as  pure  in  style  as  it  is 
impure  in  morals.  It  is  indescribably  tedious,  its 
characters  effeminate,  proud,  luxurious,  super- 
stitious, fond  of  intrigues  in  politics  and  love,  but 
constant  in  neither,  dilettante  in  art  and  poetry, 
idlers,  who  prepared  their  country,  which  they 
pretended  to  rule,  for  the  storms  which  soon 
overtook  it. 

For  by  this  time  the  Empire  was  ready  for  revo- 
lution. The  emperors  no  longer  ruled,  but  princely 
families  struggled  for  supremacy,  with  the  spoils 
of  office  as  the  stakes,  and  pleasures  of  the  grosser 
sort  as  ultimate  end.  Superstition  took  the  place 
of  religion,  and  literature  was  without  virility. 
Emperors  were  without  power  or  ambition,  often 
mere  children  adorned  with  meaningless  honours, 
surrounded  with  burdensome  ceremonial,  and  sys- 
tematically debauched.  Had  such  a civilisation 
continued,  Japan  would  have  been  as  uninterest- 
ing and  as  ineffective  in  a few  centuries  as  other 
Asiatic  lands.  It  was  not  in  an  effeminate  civili- 
sation but  in  deadly  strife  that  the  Japanese  ob- 
tained the  training  which  fits  them  to  take  a great 
place  in  the  world.  In  the  twelfth  century  the 
system  which  had  formed  around  the  palace  of 
the  Emperor  broke  up  and  the  appeal  was  made 
to  arms. 


CHAPTER  IV 


THE)  FKUDAI,  WARS 


lW0  great  families  began  the  strife  in  the 


I twelfth  century  a.d.  and  then  for  four  hun- 
dred years  obscure  struggles  ensued.  Family 
fought  against  family,  East  against  West,  and 
adventurer  with  adventurer.  Civilisation  almost 
perished,  as  the  cities  were  destroyed  and  some- 
times the  people  lost  heart  and  refused  to  till  the 
ground.  The  emperors  lost  even  the  semblance 
of  power  and  remained  in  ceremonious  confine- 
ment. The  court  nobles  shared  the  same  fate, 
the  Shogun  (generalissimo)  trying  to  hold  the 
actual  power,  while  a body  of  feudal  lords  was 
formed  which  fought  each  other  and  governed 
the  provinces.  At  intervals  strong  leaders  ap- 
peared who  conquered  a peace  and  made  op- 
portunity for  a revival  of  civilisation  and  the 
development  of  art  and  luxury;  but  no  family 
long  survived  and  soon  fighting  would  be  resumed. 
Such  history  need  not  be  repeated  in  detail,  as  it 
was  partisan  strife  with  no  principles  involved 
and  no  constitutional  development.  Heroic  acts, 


25 


26 


Japanese  Life 

self-sacrifice,  and  striking  deeds  there  were,  but 
loyalty  was  to  persons,  so  that  the  warfare  led  no 
whither. 

The  system  became  more  and  more  complicated. 
The  Emperor,  as  we  have  seen,  was  left  to  a life 
of  empty  state  in  Kyoto,  his  capital,  supposed  to 
start  the  machinery  of  government  and  then  to 
remain  apart.  Never  were  de  facto  and  de  jure 
powers  more  widely  separated.  Why  in  all  these 
centuries  did  no  strong  soldier  end  the  elaborate 
farce  and  make  himself  in  title  as  in  fact  supreme  ? 
Possibly  for  the  reason  which  led  the  Caesars  to 
preserve  so  long  the  fiction  of  a republic,  or,  pos- 
sibly, because  it  was  not  unnatural,  but  expressive 
of  a stage  in  the  development  of  the  Japanese  and 
congenial  to  their  minds. 

For,  sometimes,  the  Shogun  went  the  way  of 
the  Emperor  and  prime  ministers  ruled,  leaving 
two  empty  shades  of  power  above  them.  Even 
in  the  feudatories  it  was  impossible  long  to  make 
nominal  and  real  supremacy  one,  and  the  same 
separation  followed,  the  barons  ( daimyo ) becoming 
luxurious  weaklings,  while  ambitious  underlings 
ruled  in  their  stead.  Often  the  varying  rulers 
were  debauched  and  forced  to  abdicate  that  their 
infants  might  have  the  name  to  rule  while  the 
substance  of  authority  was  held  by  more  common 
and  more  virile  hands. 

Teaming  fell  into  disrepute  and  was  left  to 
priests.  The  university  was  given  up,  medicine 
made  no  advance,  and  law  gave  way  to  the  caprice 


The  Feudal  Wars 


27 


of  soldiers  and  gentlemen.  The  gentleman  {sa- 
murai) was  the  soldier  and,  more  and  more  sepa- 
rated from  the  common  people,  gained  special 
rights  and  privileges.  He  corresponded  to  the 
knights  of  Europe,  but  his  soldierly  loyalty  was 
tempered  neither  by  devotion  to  the  Church  nor 
to  woman.  Loyalty  was  the  one  virtue,  and  yet 
the  story  is  disfigured  by  countless  acts  of  treach- 
ery. Some  of  the  great  leaders  were  monsters  of 
cruelty  and  lust,  stopping  at  nothing  when  their 
ambitions  or  their  desires  were  at  stake.  Even 
the  monks  partook  of  the  spirit  of  the  age,  as 
monasteries  became  fortresses,  bishops  were 
barons,  and  armies  of  priests  defied  the  strongest 
barons.  One  line  of  bishops  ruled  a great  pro- 
vince for  a century. 

The  connection  with  China  and  Korea  was 
never  wholly  broken,  and  there  were  repeated  im- 
portations of  new  forms  of  art,  and  new  customs 
of  life  for  successive  waves  of  influence  were  felt 
and  always  from  the  same  quarter.  Once,  indeed, 
it  seemed  as  if  an  impulse  were  to  be  received  from 
another  source,  and  had  it  been  effective  and  per- 
manent the  story  of  East  and  West  would  have 
been  greatly  altered. 

For  in  the  sixteenth  century  was  the  episode  of 
foreign  intercourse.  Europeans  went  to  Japan, 
where  a warm  welcome  greeted  merchants  and 
missionaries.  Commerce  prospered,  and  mission- 
aries made  many  converts.  The  Roman  Church 
believed  that  it  had  added  another  empire  to  its 


28 


Japanese  Life 


wide  dominion,  when  Xavier  went  to  Japan  in 
1549,  and  for  forty  years  the  priests  who  followed 
him  laboured  without  hindrance  and  with  distin- 
guished success.  Then  hostilities  began.  It  was 
an  unfortunate  time  in  Europe  and  in  Japan  alike. 
Protestant  was  arrayed  against  Catholic,  and  for- 
eign commerce  was  little  removed  from  piracy. 
European  enmity  was  transferred  to  Japanese 
soil,  and  the  different  nationalities  accused  each 
other  to  the  rulers  of  Japan.  Even  in  the  Roman 
Church  order  quarrelled  with  order,  the  native 
converts  outdoing  their  teachers  in  violence.  As 
Buddhism  had  used  force,  so  Catholic  barons  at- 
tempted to  uproot  it  by  force  and  commanded 
their  subjects  to  be  baptised.  Success  proved 
dangerous,  for  Christian  barons  fought  in  the 
feudal  wars,  and  in  the  final  great  war  enlisted 
on  the  wrong,  that  is,  the  weaker,  side.  So  the 
Church  went  down  in  their  overthrow.  Buddhism 
proved  again  that  it  could  persecute,  religious  in- 
tolerance adding  fury  to  political  strife.  The  mis- 
sionaries were  charged  with  political  intrigue  and 
the  desire  to  establish  foreign  domination,  but 
there  is  no  proof  that  such  designs  were  seriously 
entertained.  In  any  case,  a decree  was  formu- 
lated expelling  foreigners  and  punishing  the  pro- 
fession of  Christianity  with  death.  The  history 
of  the  Church  contains  no  chapter  more  bloody 
than  the  account  of  its  destruction  in  Japan. 
Christians  in  multitudes  refused  to  recant,  and 
were  put  to  death.  Some  of  the  foreign  priests 


The  Feudal  Wars 


29 


courted  martyrdom,  defying  the  Government. 
The  persecutions  lasted  for  fifty  years  and  ceased 
only  when  there  remained  none  to  be  persecuted. 
As  Protestantism  was  destroyed  in  Spain,  so  per- 
ished the  Roman  Church  in  Japan,  and  for  two 
centuries  the  laws  remained,  constantly  pro- 
claimed but  without  victims.  Yet  when  at  last 
foreigners  again  came  to  Japan,  more  than  three 
hundred  years  after  Xavier,  missionaries  found 
communities  who  in  secret  had  kept  the  faith, 
without  priest,  or  sacrament,  or  open  assembly, 
or  sacred  books.  From  father  to  son  the  tradition 
had  been  handed  down,  so  that  when  the  day 
of  freedom  again  dawned  four  thousand  Roman 
Catholics  hailed  its  coming,  a fact  to  be  pondered 
by  those  who  think  the  Japanese  fickle  and  with- 
out firmness  of  convictions  or  permanence  of  faith. 

With  the  Church  destroyed  and  foreigners  ban- 
ished, Japan  entered  upon  a period  of  national 
seclusion,  intercourse  even  with  the  Chinese  being 
subjected  to  severe  restrictions.  The  Dutch  ob- 
tained scanty  privileges  on  humiliating  terms, 
and  through  them  came  intelligence  of  the  Western 
world,  but  this  intelligence  was  denied  to  the  peo- 
ple, and  among  the  rulers  was  prized  only  by 
a few  men  of  exceptional  intellectual  curiosity. 
The  knowledge  of  the  outer  world  faded  away  and 
nothing  remained  save  a hatred  of  Christianity 
and  a dread  of  foreign  dominion.  For  European 
intercourse  had  been  a mere  episode  without  per- 
manent impression,  excepting  its  transformation 


30 


Japanese  Life 

of  the  policy  of  the  Government  into  rigid  exclu- 
sion. When  in  the  nineteenth  century  the  West 
again  came  into  contact  with  the  East,  the  policy 
seemed  characteristic,  and  its  sudden  reversal  in- 
dicative of  fickleness.  But  Japan  is  not  self-cen- 
tred like  China,  nor  is  it  dominated  by  caste  like 
India.  Its  isolation  was  the  exception,  an  episode 
due  to  special  causes,  in  a history  characterised 
in  its  whole  development  by  hospitality  and  re- 
ceptivity. 

At  the  close  of  the  four  hundred  years  of  feudal 
warfare  a group  of  great  men  shaped  the  policy 
of  the  Empire  and  after  more  hard  fighting  at 
home  and  in  Korea  gave  peace  to  the  Empire. 
The  fighting  must  not  detain  us,  not  even  the  in- 
vasion of  Korea.  In  it  one  of  the  two  commanders 
was  a Christian  and  thousands  of  Catholics  were 
with  him.  It  was  a war  undertaken  in  part  from 
the  love  of  conquest,  and  in  part  from  the  exi- 
gencies of  politics  at  home.  It  achieved  success 
in  the  beginning,  but  terminated  in  failure,  though 
it  destroyed  Korean  prosperity  and  inflicted  losses 
from  which  that  kingdom  has  not  yet  recovered. 
It  added  also  another  impulse  to  the  reviving  art 
industries  of  Japan.  The  ruler  of  Japan  was 
Hideyoshi,  one  of  the  many  characters  in  the  his- 
tory who  combined  opposite  qualities.  He  was  a 
great  warrior  and  a great  promoter  of  the  arts  of 
peace : he  was  magnanimous  to  defeated  enemies, 
yet  revelled  in  wanton  cruelties;  he  was  a wise 
administrator  and  a shameless  debauchee:  he 


DANCING  GIRLS.  SIXTEENTH  CENTURY,  COURT  OF  HIDE  ^OSHi 


The  Feudal  Wars 


31 


surrounded  himself  with  able  men,  but  was  un- 
able to  give  permanent  peace  to  the  country  or  to 
transmit  his  power  to  his  descendants.  His  most 
trusted  lieutenant  was  Tokugawa  Ieyasu,  who 
was  his  equal  in  war  and  his  master  in  intrigue. 
After  Hideyoshi’s  death,  Ieyasu  turned  against 
his  lord’s  son,  defeated  him  in  battle,  destroyed 
his  power,  and  took  the  Empire  for  himself.  The 
Christians  in  these  wars  fought  loyally  on  the  los- 
ing side  and  suffered  the  inevitable  consequence. 

Had  Tokugawa  Ieyasu  been  merely  a success- 
ful soldier  his  power  would  have  disappeared  like 
that  of  so  many  who  had  preceded  him,  but  he 
was  a statesman  of  the  clearest  insight  and  mas- 
tered the  situation.  He  had  conquered  a peace 
like  many  another:  unlike  them,  could  he  pre- 
serve it  ? He  had  gained  supreme  power:  could 
he  transmit  it  to  his  descendants?  He  solved 
both  problems  with  entire  success,  his  peace  en- 
during for  two  centuries  and  a half,  and  his  family 
remaining  in  power  for  fifteen  reigns.  He  made 
the  House  of  Tokugawa  unquestionably  first  in 
martial  power;  he  gave  his  men-at-arms  rank 
equal  to  that  of  the  feudal  nobles;  he  rewarded 
his  chief  soldiers  and  the  members  of  his  family 
with  lands  and  rank,  so  arranging  their  fiefs  that 
they  controlled  all  the  strategic  points;  he  dispos- 
sessed opposing  barons,  or  gave  them  less  im- 
portant fiefs,  or  hemmed  them  in  and  made  them 
powerless  by  the  disposition  of  barons  bound  by 
firm  ties  to  the  fortunes  of  his  house;  he  treated 


32 


Japanese  Life 

the  Emperor  with  respect,  but  left  him  without 
power,  forbidding  the  feudal  lords  to  enter  the 
city  where  he  dwelt;  and  finally,  he  forced  the 
barons  to  maintain  mansions  in  Yedo,  the  Toku- 
gawa  capital,  where  they  were  to  remain  half 
their  time,  and  where  they  left  members  of  their 
families  in  their  absence  as  hostages.  The  nobles 
went  to  Yedo  with  retinues  of  retainers,  and  at 
great  expense.  Were  there  signs  of  too  great 
power,  they  were  given  exhausting  tasks  as 
honours,  or  other  means  were  found  for  their  im- 
poverishment. The  city  was  like  a vast  perma- 
nent camp,  the  Shogun  dwelling  secure  in  the 
centre,  and  the  barons  skilfully  arranged  as  checks 
upon  each  other  so  that  no  chance  for  a successful 
plot  or  for  an  insurrection  ever  came  even  to  the 
desperate  courage  of  a Japanese. 

Thus  Ieyasu  succeeded  where  Napoleon  failed. 
The  great  Frenchman  desired  to  be  at  the  head 
of  a family  of  kings,  to  rearrange  the  map  of 
Europe,  to  make  Paris  its  capital,  and  to  compel 
all  sovereigns  to  maintain  mansions  there  for  resi- 
dence a portion  of  the  time.  Had  he  succeeded 
in  his  dream  Europe  too  might  have  enjoyed  the 
advantages  of  inglorious  peace,  resting  content  in 
submission  to  sovereign  power.  But  as  even  a 
Napoleon  did  not  think  of  taking  the  Papal  crown, 
so  Ieyasu  was  content  with  the  substance  of  power, 
and  did  not  aspire  to  be  emperor,  leaving  the 
Mikado  his  dignity,  his  ceremony,  and  his  undis- 
turbed leisure. 


The  Feudal  Wars 


33 


The  Orient  is  supposed  by  many  students  to 
want  the  power  of  organisation  and  attention  to 
details,  which  are  held  to  be  the  endowments  ex- 
clusively of  the  modern  Western  mind,  and,  there- 
fore, the  success  of  the  Japanese  in  their  conduct 
of  war  is  thought  exceptional  and  mysterious. 
We  forget  the  great  Oriental  empires  of  the  past, 
and  we  forget,  or  do  not  know,  that  the  reorgani- 
sation of  Japan  in  our  day  with  its  mastery  of 
modern  civilisation  and  its  insight  into  the  situa- 
tion and  its  patient  attention  to  details  is  only  a 
new  exhibition  of  a power  manifested  repeatedly 
before,  never  manifested  more  clearly  than  in  the 
reorganisation  of  the  Empire  by  Ieyasu,  a re- 
organisation which  proved  its  perfectness  by  its 
endurance  of  the  tests  of  two  centuries  and  a half. 

The  House  of  Tokugawa  was  munificent  patron 
of  literature,  art,  and  religion.  The  university 
was  re-established,  an  indication  of  a revival  of 
learning.  Thenceforth  letters  were  no  longer  the 
exclusive  possession  of  priests,  but  became  indis- 
pensable to  the  equipment  of  the  gentleman,  so 
that  great  schools  were  formed  in  the  provinces. 
Chinese  philosophy,  history,  and  ethics  were  re- 
introduced, and  shaped  decisively  all  culture. 
Yet  centuries  of  study  of  this  foreign  learning 
could  not  eradicate  Japanese  peculiarities,  but 
even  among  the  partisans  for  the  strictest  Chinese 
orthodoxy  there  remained  characteristics  which 
could  not  be  transformed,  for  Japan  could  not  be 
made  Chinese,  not  even  by  the  most  assiduous 

3 


34 


Japanese  Life 

study  of  Chinese  literature  and  the  most  willing 
adoption  of  Chinese  ideals. 

The  nobles  vied  in  the  arts  of  peace  as  they  had 
competed  in  the  art  of  war.  Etiquette  became 
matter  of  enactment  and  ceremony  took  its  place 
among  the  greater  interests  of  life.  Some  of  the 
clans  lost  their  warlike  prowess,  and  others  re- 
tained it  by  strenuous  endeavour.  The  past  was 
forgotten  as  the  people  came  to  think  of  the  sys- 
tem under  which  they  lived  as  if  it  were  ordained 
by  Heaven.  A few  specialists  investigated  “ an- 
cient matters  ” and  knew  the  truth,  but  the  Toku- 
gawa  family  held  historical  investigation  well  in 
hand  and  permitted  results  to  be  made  known 
only  within  limits.  Religion,  like  the  rest,  was 
the  instrument  of  the  State.  Buddhism  never  re- 
covered from  the  effect  of  the  feudal  wars,  and 
was  unable  as  in  the  past  to  play  a great  part  in 
the  State,  for  the  Tokugawa  family  endowed  the 
establishment  and  controlled  it.  Gentlemen,  en- 
lightened by  the  Chinese  philosophy,  came  to  look 
upon  religion  as  useful  in  its  place,  and  to  be 
given  outward  respect,  but  as  having  no  imme- 
diate interest  for  men  who  had  acquired  a loftier 
guide  to  life. 

Tokugawa  Ieyasu  had  some  great  successors, 
but,  of  necessity,  the  succession  of  able  men  could 
not  be  maintained.  The  family  went  the  way  of 
other  Oriental  dynasties,  it  became  effeminate, 
and  was  hedged  around  by  ceremonies.  The 
Shogun  was  a state  prisoner,  not  knowing  the 


The  Feudal  Wars 


35 


world,  but  studying  it  in  toy  gardens  and  villages 
in  his  own  castle  enclosures.  He  no  longer  went 
forth  at  the  head  of  his  retainers  to  hunt,  but  was 
weak  in  body  as  in  mind.  The  feudal  nobles  also 
were  debauched,  and  their  governments  were 
managed  by  ambitious  samurai , everywhere  with 
intrigue  and  the  old  separation  between  de  jure 
and  de  facto  powers.  The  Government  ran  on  by 
inertia,  machinery  taking  the  place  of  men,  but 
Ieyasu  and  his  grandson  Iemitsu  had  planned  it 
well.  It  might  have  run  on  still  for  generations, 
growing  more  and  more  complicated  with  age,  for 
the  forces  which  opposed  the  system  had  no  co- 
hesion in  any  common  object.  In  1853,  however, 
a new  factor  entered;  the  guns  of  Commodore 
Perry  were  heard  in  Yedo  Bay. 

The  highest  achievement  of  the  long  period  we 
have  so  hurriedly  reviewed,  from  the  beginning 
of  the  feudal  wars  in  the  twelfth  century,  was  the 
formation  of  the  character  of  the  gentleman,  the 
samurai.  Under  the  Tokugawa  regime  the  ideal 
was  completed.  By  heredity  he  was  a soldier, 
and  he  was  trained  to  think  unhesitating  loyalty 
the  chief  end  of  man.  For  his  master  no  labour 
nor  any  sacrifice  was  too  great.  To  his  duties  as 
soldier  he  added  those  of  administrator,  for  there 
was  no  division  of  the  powers  of  government,  but 
all  were  concentrated  in  this  class.  Even  the 
control  by  the  nobles  was  nominal,  so  that  the 
leading  samurai  were  men  of  affairs  accustomed 
to  deal  with  all  the  interests  of  the  province. 


36 


Japanese  Life 

They  constituted  also  the  learned  class.  In  the 
seventeenth  century  it  is  true  it  was  necessary  to 
argue  the  point  and  to  show  that  learning  is  not 
the  province  solely  of  the  priest  and  that  it  does 
not  make  its  votaries  effeminate,  but  soon,  under 
the  sway  of  the  Tokugawa  family,  it  became  a 
proverb  that  arms  and  learning  are  to  the  samurai 
like  the  two  wings  of  a bird.  The  class  num- 
bered perhaps  four  hundred  thousand  men,  to 
whom  the  ideals  of  loyalty  and  learning,  the  habit 
of  command,  and  the  experience  of  government 
were  by  inheritance;  naturally  they  were  the 
leaders  as  the  rulers  of  the  people. 

Doubtless  too  often  the  ideal  was  not  realised, 
and  high-sounding  maxims  did  not  represent  the 
practice,  and  yet,  allowing  as  everywhere  for  the 
difference  between  the  ideal  and  the  real,  it  was 
the  glory  of  Japan  that  it  produced  the  ideal,  and 
that  so  many  men  strove  worthily  to  realise  it  in 
life. 

Something  should  be  added  of  the  influence  of 
the  feudal  system.  It  supplied  an  element  of 
rivalry  and  kept  the  stronger  clans  alert.  Some 
of  them  never  forgot  the  earlier  struggles,  nor 
ceased  to  regard  the  House  of  Tokugawa  as  their 
enemy.  This  relationship  supplied  in  a degree 
the  want  of  foreign  intercourse,  keeping  alive  in 
its  absence  the  feeling  of  patriotism.  That  was, 
it  is  true,  only  devotion  to  a clan,  but  it  gained  in 
intensity  what  it  lost  in  breadth.  The  enforced 
residence  in  Yedo  was  not  without  its  effect, 


The  Feudal  Wars 


37 


bringing  the  representatives  of  the  different  clans 
into  contact  and  supplying  opportunities  for  peace- 
ful rivalry.  Thus  even  during  the  long  period  of 
isolation  and  peace  the  empire  represented  the 
world  in  miniature,  and  supplied  itself  with  the 
elements  found  elsewhere  in  the  meeting  of  nation 
with  nation  and  of  race  with  race.  Still  it  was  in 
miniature,  and  the  different  factions  were  of  one 
race  and  of  one  type,  so  that  progress  was  meagre, 
and  before  the  close  of  the  period  under  review  its 
possibilities  had  been  exhausted.  Without  con- 
tact with  other  races  and  ideals  further  progress 
could  not  be. 


CHAPTER  V 
the  awakening 

THUS  Japan  had  reached  the  limits  of  its 
possible  development  under  its  old  ideals 
and  organisation,  and  needed  contact  with  fresh 
sources  of  life.  Feudalism  controlled  by  a central 
autocratic  power,  religion  for  the  people  but  sub- 
sidised and  governed  by  the  State,  an  orthodox 
philosophy  taught  in  the  schools  with  divergent 
teaching  forbidden,  art  and  literature  and  eti- 
quette becoming  more  and  more  precise  and 
minute,  but  without  new  viotifs  or  great  move- 
ments, a peace  so  profound  that  war  was  only  the 
dim  tradition  of  centuries  past,  a social  system 
crystallised, — the  scheme  was  complete  without 
so  much  as  a desire  for  change.  Groups  of  men, 
here  and  there,  it  is  true  objected  to  this  or  that, 
criticised,  from  the  stores  of  history  showed  other 
systems  to  be  possible  or  of  higher  right,  but  they 
effected  nothing,  and  no  organisation  was  formed 
seeking  to  take  their  theories  into  the  domain  of 
practical  politics. 

The  self-contentment  was  so  complete  that 
38 


39 


The  Awakening 

events  from  without  could  disturb  it  no  more  than 
critics  within.  Early  in  the  nineteenth  century, 
Russia  encroached  upon  the  Japanese  domain  in 
the  North,  and  finally  forced  the  unequal  exchange 
of  Saghalin  for  the  Kurile  Islands.  Repeatedly 
British  ships  came  to  Japan,  the  increasing  im- 
portance of  the  Pacific  Ocean  to  commerce  making 
isolation  impossible,  and  finally,  in  part  through 
the  Dutch  at  Nagasaki,  and  in  part  through  the 
researches  of  native  scholars,  the  condition  of  the 
Western  world  was  brought  to  the  attention  of 
the  Government,  but  all  was  without  effect.  The 
Government  permitted  matters  to  drift,  neither 
fitting  itself  for  effective  resistance  nor  attempting 
preparation  for  the  new  state  of  things. 

For  not  only  had  the  development  possible 
under  the  old  ideals  reached  its  limits,  but,  also, 
the  men  in  control  of  affairs  were  no  longer  com- 
petent. The  Shogun  was  imbecile,  and  his  coun- 
sellors without  vigour  or  high  intelligence:  the 
daimyo  with  few  exceptions  were  debauchees 
without  grasp  upon  government,  their  higher 
officials  too  were  like  themselves,  and  the  re- 
tainers of  the  Shogun  were  proud,  effeminate, 
fond  of  luxury,  and  without  martial  spirit.  The 
people  were  oppressed  and  the  officials  were  cor- 
rupt. Religion  had  long  since  lost  its  influence 
upon  the  higher  classes,  and  now  the  priests  were 
immoral  and  the  people  indifferent.  Even  the 
. Chinese  philosophy  had  run  its  course;  still  taught 
in  the  schools  and  enforced  by  law,  its  fundamental 


40 


Japanese  Life 

principles  were  disputed,  and  when  freedom  of 
opinion  was  permitted  after  the  opening  of  Japan, 
it  proved  that  few  really  accepted  them. 

Japan  seemed  to  repeat  the  story  of  its  past. 
Awakened  by  China,  it  had  developed  a luxurious 
and  refined  civilisation,  but  in  the  course  of  four 
centuries  this  had  reached  its  culmination,  and 
soon  ran  its  course,  the  Government  becoming 
pleasure-loving,  corrupt,  and  imbecile.  Then  the 
system  vanished,  and  the  nation  for  centuries 
worked  out  a new  system  through  struggle  and 
war.  The  new  system  endured  for  two  centuries 
and  a half,  bringing  again  a condition  without 
promise  or  possibility  of  progress.  Its  end  must 
come,  either  as  in  the  twelfth  century  by  internal 
war,  or  by  some  great  impulse  from  abroad.  The 
only  possible  alternative  was  stagnation,  and,  as 
in  China  and  still  more  in  Korea,  a descent  to 
lower  and  lower  depths. 

The  impulse,  as  we  know,  came  from  without, 
when  Commodore  Perry  sailed  into  Yedo  Bay. 
The  authorities  were  panic-stricken.  They  could 
neither  resist  nor  accept  the  situation,  but  tem- 
porised and  compromised  in  the  vain  hope  that 
something  would  turn  up.  The  treaty  with  Perry 
was  made  in  1854,  and  was  followed  soon  by 
similar  treaties  with  England,  France,  and  Russia, 
treaties  which  were  meagre,  merely  making  pro- 
vision for  the  succour  of  distressed  vessels  and 
the  residence  of  a foreign  agent  to  see  to  the 
carrying  out  of  the  articles,  but  profoundly  sig- 


4i 


The  Awakening 

nificant  as  marking  the  end  of  the  ancient  policy 
and  regime.  In  1858,  Mr.  Townsend  Harris,  the 
accomplished  agent  of  the  United  States,  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  a real  treaty  of  friendship  and 
commerce.  Commodore  Perry  had  gained  his 
point  by  the  display  of  overwhelming  force  and 
by  threats.  Mr.  Harris  had  no  ships,  but  he 
made  his  defenceless  position  his  strongest  argu- 
ment. For  a time  he  could  accomplish  nothing, 
the  ministers  in  Yedo  would  not  so  much  as  see 
him,  and  he  bemoaned  his  lonely  and  purposeless 
exile.  But  in  China  the  English  and  the  French 
were  at  war  with  the  Chinese,  trying  to  arouse 
them  to  the  knowledge  that  the  century  was  the 
nineteenth  and  commercial,  even  at  the  cannon’s 
mouth.  In  Japan,  Mr.  Harris  and  the  Govern- 
ment were  watching  the  progress  of  events.  When 
the  Peiho  forts  fell  and  the  way  was  opened  for 
the  allies  to  Pekin,  greater  were  the  consequences 
in  Japan  than  in  China.  Mr.  Harris  hurried  to 
Yedo,  whither  the  news  had  preceded  him.  He 
had  attentive  audience  at  once,  and  for  six  hours 
spoke  to  the  ministers  of  the  Shogun , setting  forth 
the  condition  of  the  Western  world  and  urging 
the  acceptance  of  his  treaty.  He  pointed  out  the 
defenceless  condition  of  Japan  and  asked  how  it 
could  resist  when  China  was  helpless,  and  he 
threatened  the  coming  of  the  allied  fleets,  when 
they  should  finish  their  present  work.  He  in- 
sisted on  the  advantage  of  dealing  with  him,  an 
unarmed  man,  instead  of  treating  with  ambassa- 


42 


Japanese  Life 

dors  backed  by  victorious  fleets.  His  arguments 
were  irresistible,  and  when,  later,  Europeans  fol- 
lowed they  accepted  his  work  and  made  treaties 
to  the  same  effect. 

Thus  threats  forced  back  the  reluctant  gates  a 
little  when  Perry  made  his  treaty,  and  threats 
forced  them  wider  open  when  Harris,  unarmed, 
gained  his  point.  The  Government  was  irresolute 
and  ill  advised.  It  needed  beyond  all  else  strength 
and  straightforwardness.  It  made  the  treaties  re- 
luctantly, and  with  the  expectation  of  a return  to 
the  old  condition  a little  later  on.  Some  states- 
men recognised  that  a good  deal  of  time  might 
be  needed;  a very  few  soon  came  to  see  that  it 
were  better  to  cease  the  effort  and  to  prepare 
frankly  for  the  new  situation.  Probably  this  be- 
came the  prevailing  opinion  in  the  Government, 
but  it  faced  both  ways.  It  made  the  treaties  with 
the  foreigners,  but  it  repudiated  them  to  the  Em- 
peror and  to  the  feudatories.  It  would  not  take 
boldly  the  responsibility  for  its  course,  but  tem- 
porised and  prevaricated.  Its  one  strong  man 
who  might  have  saved  the  situation  was  assas- 
sinated, and  things  went  from  bad  to  worse. 

All  the  elements  of  dissatisfaction  came  to  the 
surface. 

The  ancient  clan  jealousies  of  the  House  of 
Tokugawa,  nourished  by  the  remote  and  warlike 
clans  of  Choshu  and  Satsuma,  the  influence  of  the 
little  cliques  of  literary  men  who  had  vainly  taught 
that  the  rule  of  the  Shogun  was  an  usurpation,  the 


43 


The  Awakening 

ambition  of  young  samurai  tired  of  inglorious 
peace,  the  discontent  of  multitudes  for  varied 
causes  accumulated  during  the  long  reign, — all 
these  and  more  combined  with  the  anti- foreign 
spirit  which,  cultivated  for  three  centuries,  repre- 
sented foreign  intercourse  as  preliminary  to  foreign 
domination,  and  foreign  residence  as  a profanation 
of  the  lands  of  the  divinities.  Patriotism  awoke, 
not  now  the  patriotism  of  the  clan  but  of  the  na- 
tion. It  was  something  new,  for,  with  Japan  as 
the  all,  why  should  one  be  loyal  to  it  ? Even  the 
repulse  of  the  Mongols  in  the  thirteenth  century 
and  the  invasion  of  Korea  in  the  sixteenth  had 
been  regarded  not  as  national,  but  as  tribal,  or,  at 
most,  partisan  struggles,  the  nation  not  yet  come 
to  self-consciousness.  But  now,  with  a few  men, 
clan  loyalty  gave  place  to  patriotism,  as  not  this 
clan  nor  that,  but  the  nation,  seemed  at  once 
threatened  by  the  barbarians  and  disgraced  by 
the  craven  yielding  of  the  Shogun. 

The  Government  was  not  only  double-faced  and 
undecided,  but  in  the  crisis  it  abdicated  some  of 
its  functions  and  proved  untrue  to  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  the  Tokugawa  rule.  For 
example,  it  attempted  to  shift  the  responsibility, 
once  by  calling  a council  of  the  great  feudatories, 
and  again  by  asking  decision  by  the  Emperor.  In 
both  instances  it  reversed  the  settled  policy  of  its 
rule,  for  autocracy  was  its  principle  and  the  Em- 
peror was  expressly  excluded  from  sharing  in 
affairs  of  State,  which  were  all  reserved  for  the 


44 


Japanese  Life 

Court  of  the  Shogun.  With  this  reference  to  the 
Emperor,  the  position  of  the  Shogun  became 
doubly  difficult  towards  the  foreigners,  it  having 
signed  treaties  with  them  as  supreme,  while  now 
the  Emperor  denounced  the  engagements  thus 
entered  into,  and  commanded  the  expulsion  of  the 
barbarians  by  force.  The  situation,  indeed,  was 
impossible:  intrigue,  double-dealing,  assassina- 
tions, civil  war,  divided  counsels  everywhere;  an 
end  must  come,  and  it  all  depended  upon  which 
party  should  possess  the  strongest  and  clearest- 
sighted  men.  Tokugawa  was  weighed  in  the 
balance  and  found  wanting,  without  wisdom  to 
decide  or  energy  to  execute.  The  Court  at  Kyoto 
was  equally  unable  to  meet  the  crisis,  being  at 
once  without  experience  and  without  leaders. 
The  daimyo , with  very  few  exceptions,  were  im- 
becile, or  debauched.  The  great  retainers  of  the 
Tokugawa  family  were  like  the  daimyo , hence  the 
natural  leaders  of  the  State  in  its  hour  of  peril 
could  neither  see  clearly  nor  act  decisively.  The 
regeneration  of  the  nation  came  from  a group  of 
samurai. 

Two  great  clans,  Satsuma  and  Choshu,  in  the 
west  of  the  Empire,  led.  They  from  the  beginning 
of  its  rule  had  hated  the  Tokugawa  family,  and, 
farthest  from  its  control,  had  never  come  com- 
pletely under  its  dominion.  Now  hatred  of  the 
ruling  house  combined  with  the  desire  for  the  ex- 
pulsion of  the  barbarians.  But  events  occurred 
which  proved  conclusively  that  the  second  part 


45 


The  Awakening 

of  the  programme  was  impracticable,  and  sub- 
stituted the  destruction  of  the  Tokugawa  rule  for 
the  war  upon  the  foreigners,  though  for  a time  the 
two  cries  were  combined  in  the  rallying  of  the 
forces. 

In  forming  their  treaties,  Perry  and  Harris 
used  only  threats  and  the  show  of  force;  others 
who  succeeded  them  were  not  so  forbearing.  The 
representatives  of  the  Powers  felt  themselves  sur- 
rounded by  dangers,  in  the  midst  of  mysterious 
complications.  The  Government  was  a riddle 
whose  meaning  they  could  not  guess,  and  the 
Shogun  seemed  to  play  a game  of  interminable 
intrigue.  Besides,  foreigners  were  possessed  with 
the  notion  that  Oriental  diplomacy  cannot  be 
trusted.  Mr.  Harris  only  understood  the  real 
situation  through  his  sympathy  with  the  people, 
but  he  left  in  1861,  and  thenceforth  the  Powers 
acted  together,  with  England  in  the  lead.  The 
British  Minister,  Sir  Rutherford  Alcock,  describes 
the  East  as  a bad  school  for  diplomatists,  since 
there  are  only  two  classes,  the  oppressors  and  the 
oppressed,  and  neither  he  nor  his  successor  had 
any  notion  of  being  included  in  the  second  class; 
hence  Japanese  intrigue  must  be  met  by  threats, 
and  its  weakness  remedied  by  the  application  of 
foreign  force. 

An  Englishman  affronted  the  train  of  the  lord 
of  Satsuma  and  was  promptly  cut  down  by  his 
men-at-arms.  The  British  Government  demanded 
an  indemnity  from  the  Shogun's  Government  and 


46 


Japanese  Life 

the  punishment  of  Satsuma.  The  first  was  paid, 
but  the  second  demand  was  beyond  the  powers 
of  the  Government,  so  the  British  minister  sent  a 
fleet  and  bombarded  the  capital  of  the  province 
and  destroyed  its  fleet.  It  was  a flagrant  atrocity, 
but  it  taught  Satsuma  that  the  Japanese  could 
not  cope  with  the  foreigner,  but  must  learn  from 
him  if  equality  were  to  be  attained. 

At  the  command  of  the  Emperor,  wrongly  in- 
voked by  Tokugawa,the  Choshu  clan  fired  upon 
foreign  merchantmen  sailing  through  the  straits 
of  Shimonoseki.  The  foreign  ministers  combined, 
demanded  an  indemnity,  and  bombarded  the 
capital  of  Choshu.  Thus  this  clan  learned  its 
lesson : foremost  as  it  had  been  in  the  anti-foreigu 
agitation,  it  could  not  expel  the  barbarians;  it 
must  learn  from  them. 

So,  finally,  these  two  clans  united  to  punish 
Tokugawa,  and  two  other  powerful  and  warlike 
clans,  Tosa  and  Hizen,  joined  with  them.  The 
coalition  was  brought  about  by  samurai  who  went 
from  clan  to  clan  and  talked  over  the  situation, 
and  gained  each  other’s  confidence  and  adherence. 
It  wTas  something  unheard  of,  for  in  the  past  no 
samurai  would  have  ventured  to  intrude  upon 
the  domain  of  another  clan.  The  daimyo  were 
won  over.  The  head  of  the  Satsuma  clan  was 
promised  the  shogunate  for  himself,  the  lord  of 
Tosa  was  ready  for  sacrifices,  and  the  chiefs  of  the 
other  two  provinces  ruled  only  in  name.  The 
leaders  were  a little  group  of  samurai , who  formed 


47 


The  Awakening 

the  Three- Clan  League,  also  called  from  the  first 
syllables  of  the  clan  names,  Sat-Cho-To. 

The  leaders  were  convinced,  as  we  have  seen, 
that  resistance  to  the  foreigners  was  impossible, 
but  none  the  less  they  were  prepared  to  risk  war 
for  the  attainment  of  their  purpose.  As  a rallying 
cry,  “ Expel  the  barbarians  ! ” was  a necessity, 
and,  if  forced  by  necessity,  they  should  be  obliged 
to  prove  to  their  followers  the  impossibility  of  the 
task,  they  were  ready  for  that  issue.  In  the  be- 
ginning the  purpose  was  merely  to  substitute  the 
House  of  Satsuma  for  the  House  of  Tokugawa 
and  to  continue  the  shogunate.  But  very  speedily 
it  became  apparent  that  the  division  of  the  power 
between  the  Emperor  and  the  Shogun  was  im- 
possible in  the  new  state  of  things;  therefore  the 
Prince  of  Satsuma  was  led  to  accept  an  offer  of 
the  highest  position  at  the  Court  of  the  Emperor 
and  gave  his  influence  henceforth  to  the  unifica- 
tion of  the  Government.  The  Prince  of  Tosa  was 
a far-sighted  and  patriotic  man  who  entered  into 
the  plans  of  his  samurai  and  strongly  supported 
the  common  cause.  The  other  daimyo  imme- 
diately concerned  were  imbecile. 

The  four  clans  thus  combined,  uncertain  as  to 
details,  but  determined  upon  the  overthrow  of  the 
Government,  were  successful  beyond  their  highest 
hopes.  The  Shogun , after  a brief  resistance,  sur- 
rendered and  abdicated,  and  though  his  followers, 
as  a forlorn  hope,  maintained  the  struggle  for 
months,  they  were  ultimately  overcome.  The 


48 


Japanese  Life 

British  Minister,  Sir  Harry  Parkes,  first  of  all  the 
foreign  diplomatists  to  understand  the  situation, 
added  his  influence  and  the  power  of  the  diplo- 
matic corps  to  the  cause  of  the  clans.  In  1867 
the  revolt  began — in  1869  the  Teague  was  in  un- 
disputed possession  of  Japan;  in  1871  the  feudal 
system  fell  and  the  new  political  development  be- 
gan. It  has  been  a wonder  to  the  Western  world 
that  two  hundred  and  fifty  barons  should  surren- 
der their  power  and  become  private  citizens,  but, 
after  all,  the  force  which  brought  about  this  sur- 
prising situation  was  not  mysterious,  nor  was  it 
an  act  of  unique  self-sacrifice.  The  leaders  of  the 
Three- Clan  Teague  recognised  at  an  early  period 
that  their  course  in  overthrowing  the  shogunate 
carried  with  it,  by  logical  necessity,  the  overthrow 
of  the  feudal  system.  Japan  was  no  longer  to  be 
divided  into  separate  principalities  with  antago- 
nistic interests,  but  to  be  united  in  a common 
cause  and  against  external  foes.  It  was  easier  to 
abolish  the  feudal  system  than  to  reform  it,  and 
the  conditions  already  pointed  out  made  the  way 
easy.  Some  of  the  barons  were  offered  high 
honours  and  greater  powers  in  the  new  Govern- 
ment; some  of  them  were  half  imbeciles,  and  did 
as  their  samurai  urged.  After  the  few  great 
barons  were  won  by  promises  or  cajolery,  they 
became  examples  to  the  rest,  who,  besides,  had 
no  real  control  even  over  their  own  provinces. 
The  few  who  finally  resisted  the  change  were 
threatened  with  overwhelming  force  and  gave  at 


49 


The  Awakening 

last  reluctant  consent.  We  should  remember  that 
in  the  feudal  system  in  Japan  the  Tokugawa 
family  had  accustomed  the  barons  to  severe  penal- 
ties; it  had  been  no  uncommon  thing  for  a baron 
to  be  removed  from  his  fief  and  given  a second 
of  less  importance,  or  even  to  forfeit  his  fief  alto- 
gether. Therefore,  excepting  in  a few  instances, 
the  barons  did  not  hold  their  positions  as  inalien- 
able, and  when,  now,  by  the  others  in  possession 
of  the  central  Government  they  were  summoned  to 
resign,  they  followed  precedent  in  their  obedience. 
The  barons  were  pensioned  handsomely  and,  re- 
leased from  the  burdensome  ceremonial  of  the  feu- 
dal system,  doubtless  enjoyed  more  of  freedom  and 
possibly  more  of  luxury  than  in  other  days.  Their 
retainers  were  disbanded  and  pensioned,  holding 
only  the  rank  of  their  fathers,  with  neither  its 
emoluments  nor  its  rights,  and,  unfitted  by  train- 
ing for  the  struggle  for  existence,  many  became 
destitute  or  descended  to  menial  positions.  The 
surrender  of  the  fiefs  was  not  more  remarkable 
than  had  been  the  submission  of  the  barons  to 
Ieyasu  in  the  sixteenth  century.  After  the  vic- 
tory of  the  League  and  its  capture  of  the  Govern- 
ment, no  rallying-point  for  opposition  remained. 
The  barons  could  be  dealt  with  one  by  one, — with 
promises,  cajolery,  or  threats, — and  to  accept  the 
inevitable  has  been  a Japanese  characteristic  from 
time  immemorial. 

With  the  shogunate  and  the  feudal  system 
overthrown,  it  was  necessary  that  the  prevailing 

4 


50 


Japanese  Life 

sentiment,  which  was  still  hostile  to  foreigners, 
should  be  transformed.  The  samurai  had  been 
rallied,  as  we  have  seen,  with  the  cry,  “ Expel  the 
barbarians!  ” They  were  now  to  be  taught  that  the 
foreigners  were  not  barbarians,  but  were  fitted  to 
be  the  teachers  of  the  nation.  The  leaders  of  the 
clans,  themselves  quick  to  perceive  the  necessities 
of  the  situation,  believed  that  the  same  lesson 
would  suffice  for  their  followers.  The  Govern- 
ment on  various  pretexts  sent  parties  of  influential 
samurai  from  all  parts  of  Japan  to  America  and 
Europe.  They  learned  their  lesson  at  a glance 
and,  returning  to  Japan,  became  centres  of  enlight- 
enment, so  that  a great  propaganda  began.  The 
motives  which  prompted  it  were  clear.  The  rec- 
ognition of  the  vast  progress  which  the  West  had 
made  during  the  last  three  centuries,  and  their  con- 
sequent inferiority,  caused  a resolution  to  make 
themselves  the  peers  of  the  most  enlightened  peo- 
ples of  the  world.  When  foreigners  had  come 
to  Japan  in  the  sixteenth  century,  the  Japanese 
were  their  equals,  but  now,  after  this  long  period, 
foreigners  were  so  far  in  advance  that  the  Japanese 
felt  impelled  to  put  forth  all  their  strength  to  over- 
take them  in  the  race.  But  still  more  influential 
was  the  recognition  of  the  overwhelming  military 
and  naval  superiority  of  Western  nations.  In- 
deed, the  alternative  was  simple — We  must  learn 
from  the  foreigners  or  we  must  submit  to  them. 
In  the  presence  of  that  situation,  the  course  could 
not  be  doubtful.  With  intelligence  keen  enough 


5i 


The  Awakening 

to  realise  their  exact  position  and  the  remedy 
for  it,  patriotism  supplied  the  energy  which  was 
necessary.  The  leaders  were  young  and  full  of 
confidence  in  themselves  and  in  the  capacity  of  the 
people;  what  the  Westerners  had  accomplished  in 
three  hundred  years  they  would  do  in  thirty — no 
task  was  great  enough  to  daunt  them,  and  each 
man  seemed  to  feel  that  the  regeneration  of  Japan 
had  been  put  upon  himself;  so  that  a new  period 
of  knightly  enterprise  began,  with  books  in  place 
of  swords  and  Western  science  in  place  of  foreign 
territories  to  conquer.  Not  an  impecunious  stu- 
dent of  them  all  would  admit  that  he  was  study- 
ing for  any  purpose  save  to  fit  himself  to  serve  his 
country.  Students  by  hundreds  left  Japan  with- 
out resources  or  money,  but  with  sublime  faith  in 
their  own  capacities  to  meet  whatever  strange  situ- 
ation foreign  lands  might  possess,  in  the  readiness 
of  foreign  peoples  to  bid  them  welcome  and  aid 
them  in  their  way,  and  in  their  intellectual  power 
to  cope  with  all  the  intricacies  and  problems  of 
modern  science.  Many  of  them  died  in  the  enter- 
prise,— possibly  even  a foreign  campaign  would 
have  been  no  more  costly, — but  many  succeeded 
and,  going  back  to  Japan,  became  leaders  in  the 
regeneration  of  their  countrymen. 

Foreigners  also  were  brought  from  America  and 
Europe  to  Japan  and  institutions  in  great  variety 
were  speedily  established.  It  was  a period  of 
hastily  devised  plans  and  imperfect  methods,  so 
that  critics  charged  the  people  with  being  super- 


52 


Japanese  Life 

ficial,  and  indeed  plan  followed  plan  and  method 
was  superseded  by  method  with  astonishing 
rapidity.  But,  in  an  age  of  experiment,  experi- 
ments you  must  have,  and  the  Japanese  were  ex- 
perimenting at  once  with  foreign  teachers  and 
with  varying  foreign  ideals  and  with  the  tremen- 
dous task  of  transforming  their  own  civilisation : 
all  were  learners  together,  rulers  and  ruled  alike, 
and  the  plans  which  were  to  stand  could  be  de- 
veloped not  in  the  quiet  of  the  scholar’s  study, 
but  in  the  midst  of  the  turmoil  of  actual  life. 
The  strange  fact  is  that  so  few  mistakes  were 
made  and  that  on  the  whole  the  successful  sub- 
stitution of  methods  was  for  the  better,  until  at 
last  universities,  schools,  systems  of  shipping, 
of  transportation,  of  banking,  of  police,  of  the 
postal  service,  and  all  the  varied  activities  con- 
nected with  the  Government  were  fairly  com- 
parable to  their  prototypes  in  Western  lands. 
Perfection,  of  course,  was  far  from  being  attained 
and  shortcomings  in  all  departments  remained, 
but  that  such  astonishing  advance  could  be  made 
is  the  wonder  of  our  age.  And  it  was  possible 
because  in  all  the  changing  methods  one  purpose 
remained  fixed — to  place  Japan  in  the  foremost 
rank  of  the  greatest  nations  of  the  earth. 

Early  in  the  movement  one  set  of  influential 
men  from  Satsuma  withdrew  its  support  from  the 
Government  and  started  a counter-revolution.  It 
was  speedily  suppressed,  in  1877,  and  its  leader 
perished.  Another  group  afterwards  withdrew, 


53 


The  Awakening 

forming  an  opposite  party,  determined  to  make 
the  Government  itself  not  only  progressive,  but 
constitutional  after  the  English  fashion.  The 
centre  of  this  “ liberal  party,”  as  it  called  itself, 
was  in  Tosa.  Its  plans  were  summed  up  by 
its  leader  something  as  follows:  “ In  the  old 
days  our  gentlemen  were  equal  to  the  gentlemen 
of  Western  lands,  and  to-day  I am  confident  that 
they  can  acquire  all  that  Western  educated  men 
have  acquired,  but  my  visit  to  the  West  con- 
vinced me  that  the  common  people  there  are 
vastly  superior  to  our  own.  Here  in  Japan  gentle- 
man and  commoner  have  been  separated  by  an 
impassable  gulf;  customs,  language,  religion, 
rights — all  have  been  different;  but  no  nation  can 
attain  the  highest  success  which  is  dependent 
upon  the  patriotism  and  the  intelligence  of  a class; 
only  one  great  purpose  is  worthy  of  Japan,  viz., 
to  make  the  commons  the  equals  of  the  samurai — 
not  by  degrading  the  latter,  but  by  elevating  the 
former.  We  would  make  all  people  in  Japan 
equals  in  education,  in  civil  rights,  and  in  their 
share  in  the  Government,  and  we  would  instil  the 
same  loyalty  which  in  the  past  has  been  felt  only 
by  the  gentleman.” 

The  liberal  party  was  not  the  only  upholder  of 
these  views,  for  to  this  end  the  Government  estab- 
lished its  common  schools  and  compelled  attend- 
ance; completed  its  graded  system  of  national 
education  from  kindergarten  to  university,  and  in 
all  taught  the  principles  of  patriotism  and  devoted 


54 


Japanese  Life 

loyalty  to  country.  Therefore  the  generation  of 
men  who  are  now  in  mature  life,  trained  in  these 
schools,  no  longer  remember  the  state  of  things 
when  only  the  gentleman  had  rights  and  patriot- 
ism, and  the  common  people  cowered  before  his 
ever-ready  sword. 

In  the  transformation  of  Japan  naturally  enough 
the  samurai  have  taken  the  lead;  the  victorious 
clans  filled  the  public  offices  with  their  followers 
and  their  friends,  all  the  great  officers  of  State  and 
their  subordinates,  the  officers  of  the  army  and 
the  navy,  the  entire  police  force  of  the  Empire, 
most  of  the  teachers  in  the  public  schools,  the 
men  in  control  of  the  Government  systems  of  rail- 
ways and  of  steamboats  were  of  this  order;  thus 
provision  was  made  at  once  for  tens  of  thousands 
of  men  who  otherwise  would  have  been  set  adrift 
upon  the  world,  and  their  loyalty  and  intelligence 
were  enlisted  for  the  new  regime.  The  centralised 
form  of  government  concentrated  upon  itself  the 
loyalty  which  before  had  been  given  to  the  barons, 
and  the  intelligence  which  had  been  employed  in 
the  government  of  the  petty  principalities,  and, 
more  than  this,  through  its  common  schools  and 
its  endowment  of  the  common  people  with  civil 
rights,  it  added  to  the  loyalty  of  the  samurai  the 
enlightened  devotion  of  the  vast  multitude  of  the 
people. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  to  recount  the  swift 
changes,  for  the  result  of  thirty  years  of  devoted 
labour  is  known  to  all.  On  the  hardest  of  fields, 


55 


The  Awakening 

where  no  excuses  are  accepted  and  where  no  in- 
dulgence is  given,  Japan  proves  her  reorganisation 
to  be  complete,  as  she  shows  that  she  has  acquired 
the  art  of  modern  war  on  land  and  sea.  Martial 
by  heredity  and  taught  a soldier’s  creed,  that 
the  Japanese  should  be  brave  is  natural,  but  that 
they  should  have  mastered  the  art  of  military  or- 
ganisation and  perfected  its  details  is  a surprise 
to  the  Western  mind;  but  such  a mastery  of  de- 
tails is  only  a continuance  of  the  same  process 
which,  under  the  Tokugawa  Government,  per- 
fected the  feudal  system,  and  gave  peace  to  Japan 
for  almost  three  hundred  years. 

In  the  nature  of  the  case  the  reformation  was 
possible  only  through  the  help  of  foreigners,  men 
of  many  nationalities  and  many  gifts.  On  the 
whole,  Japan  was  well  served  and  faithfully. 
Army,  navy,  the  departments  of  Government,  the 
postal  service,  commercial  enterprises,  the  educa- 
tional system,  agriculture,  medicine,  manufac- 
tures, architecture,  religion,  even  distinctively 
Japanese  art  and  the  work  of  the  artisan  and  the 
study  of  Japanese  literature,  history,  and  gram- 
mar, were  all  influenced,  and  in  some  cases  com- 
pletely reorganised  by  foreign  residents.  How 
large  and  efficient  was  the  service  rendered  will 
never  be  known,  for  as  matter  of  course  the  for- 
eigner is  ignored  and  forgotten,  and  the  honour 
is  for  the  people  shrewd  enough  to  engage  his 
services.  Yet  here,  too,  history  repeats  itself,  for 
who  remembers  the  Italians  who  helped  the  great 


56 


Japanese  Life 

Mogul  to  decorate  Agra  and  Delhi,  or  the  multi- 
tudes of  men  who  have  added  lustre  in  all  lands 
and  times  to  alien  Courts  ? If  one  seeks  fame  or 
permanent  recognition  it  must  be  among  men  of 
his  own  blood,  for  even  after  distinguished  services 
abroad  he  remains  an  alien,  unless,  completely 
identified  with  the  people  he  serves,  he  loses  his 
old  nationality  in  the  new.  Then,  though  he 
may  make  a lasting  place  for  himself,  it  is  at  the 
cost  of  remembrance  in  his  native  land. 

If  Japan  knows  well  how  to  employ  foreigners 
and  to  profit  by  their  aid,  it  knows  also  how  to 
dispense  with  them.  Engagements  are  short, 
seldom  for  more  than  three  years,  with  renewals 
only  from  year  to  year,  and  no  hesitation  in  end- 
ing the  engagements  if  a better  or  more  promising 
candidate  for  the  situation  can  be  found.  I know 
of  no  instance  where  a foreigner  has  been  given 
power.  He  can  only  advise  a native  who  is  in 
control,  a control  made  independent  of  foreign 
advice  at  the  earliest  moment.  The  intense 
earnestness  shown  by  students,  the  eagerness 
with  which  they  gave  themselves  to  their  tasks, 
and  their  impatience  with  the  ordinary  processes 
of  education,  came  in  part  from  their  anxiety  to 
rid  themselves  of  foreign  tutelage,  for  Japan  for 
the  Japanese  was  their  guiding  principle. 

Naturally  such  attempts  sometimes  came  too 
soon,  and  an  impression  of  superficiality  and  self- 
assertion  was  made  on  critics.  Nor  is  it  strange 
that  Japanese  and  foreigner  did  not  agree  as  to 


57 


The  Awakening 

the  time  when  the  former  was  able  to  get  on  with- 
out the  latter.  The  foreign  community  could 
never  be  brought  to  see  that  its  members  had 
ceased  to  be  indispensable,  so  when  the  control 
of  the  post-office  went  completely  into  native  hands 
we  should  never  get  our  mails,  and  when  the 
English  engine-drivers  were  sent  home  we  should 
never  ride  from  Yokohama  to  Tokyo  in  safety, 
and  when  the  army  and  navy  foreign  missions 
were  given  up  efficiency  would  end.  Above 
all,  when  extra-territoriality  should  be  surren- 
dered, justice  would  for  ever  fail.  So  foreigners 
prophesied,  and  one  still  meets  residents  of  the 
East  who  cannot  restrain  their  bitter  criticism  of 
the  self-assertion,  superficiality,  and  self-conceit 
of  the  Japanese.  The  front  of  the  offending  is 
that  in  their  own  land  they  claim  for  themselves 
what  Americans,  Englishmen,  Germans,  and 
Frenchmen  take  as  matter  of  course,  control  of 
their  own  affairs  and  of  the  foreigners  within  their 
bounds.  We  Occidentals  are  so  accustomed  to 
rule  not  only  ourselves  but  all  others,  and  to  as- 
sert so  unhesitatingly  our  superiority,  that  we  are 
amazed  at  the  self-conceit  of  another  race  which 
dares  to  treat  us  as  equals.  Judged  by  his  own 
estimate  of  his  services,  the  foreigner  has  had 
neither  honour  nor  emolument  sufficient,  he  has 
been  dismissed  while  still  his  services  were  needed, 
and  his  labours  have  been  reckoned  to  the  credit 
of  his  employer,  but,  judged  by  the  treatment  the 
foreigner  receives  in  other  alien  lands  from  men 


58 


Japanese  Life 

of  his  own  colour  and  blood,  he  has  fared  as  others 
fare,  and  the  Japanese  have  been  considerate, 
faithful  to  their  engagements,  and  ready  to  render 
a modest  modicum  of  honour  when  it  is  due. 

One  cannot  pass  over  the  service  of  mission- 
aries, especially  when  one  has  been  a missionary 
himself  for  fifteen  years.  Some  would  have  us 
think  the  reformation  has  been  due  to  their 
labours  chiefly,  and  others  that  they  have  accom- 
plished nothing.  We  already  know  the  forces 
which  brought  about  Japan’s  transformation,  and 
we  can  readily  understand  that  these  forces  carried 
with  them  a large  opportunity  for  the  missionaries, 
an  opportunity  which  was  seized  eagerly.  For 
when  the  ports,  in  1859,  were  opened  to  foreign 
residents,  missionaries  were  waiting  to  enter 
them.  Nor  were  they  men  of  inferior  attain- 
ments and  talents,  but  worthy  representatives  of 
the  great  Churches  which  sent  them. 

In  Japan  they  were  not  of  it:  a law  forbade  the 
profession  of  their  religion,  and  prej'udice  hindered 
their  access  to  the  people.  Only  after  the  revolu- 
tion was  there  opportunity  for  open  work,  and 
during  the  intervening  years  they  were  criticised 
for  doing  nothing.  But  they  learned  the  language, 
wrote  a dictionary,  and  broke  down  prejudice. 
One  of  them,  Dr.  Verbeck,  gained  the  confidence 
of  the  rulers  of  the  Empire,  and  in  high  positions 
rendered  Japan  services  which  were  greatly  es- 
teemed and  are  gratefully  remembered  ; another, 
Dr.  Hepburn,  gained  a national  reputation  as  a 


59 


The  Awakening 

skilful  physician  and  a broad-minded  philanthro- 
pist, and  a third,  to  mention  no  more,  Dr.  S.  R. 
Brown,  trained  a group  of  young  men  who  have 
been  prominent  in  many  positions  of  influence. 

After  the  prohibition  of  Christianity  was  re- 
pealed, in  1872,  and  as  the  people  turned  to  the 
West  for  guidance  and  instruction,  the  missionaries 
were  overwhelmed  with  students  and  inquirers. 
Their  students  and  the  first  converts  were  samurai , 
so  that  they  exerted  an  influence  quite  out  of  pro- 
portion to  their  numbers.  Soon  native  churches 
were  established  and  a native  Christian  literature 
created.  In  all  walks  of  life  Christians  were 
found,  but  especially  among  the  educated,  so  that 
in  the  Diet,  on  the  newspaper  press,  in  official 
positions,  in  schools,  and  in  literature  they  have 
made  their  mark.  For  not  only  were  the  first 
converts  students,  but  many  men  who  went  to 
America  and  England  came  back  Christians. 

The  results  have  been  many.  Congregations 
have  been  organised,  a Christian  literature  has 
been  written,  Christian  schools  have  been  estab- 
lished, and  the  varied  activities  of  the  Church  set 
going.  In  all  excepting,  perhaps,  the  education 
of  girls,  the  Japanese  are  in  the  lead,  and  the  for- 
eigner, as  in  other  departments,  is  helper  and  not 
director.  But  beyond  these  direct  results  an  in- 
fluence has  been  exerted  on  public  morals,  creat- 
ing a new  sentiment  as  to  woman,  as  to  the  claims 
of  the  sick  and  the  outcast,  and,  in  general,  excit- 
ing activity  in  philanthropic  labours  for  the  better- 


6o 


Japanese  Life 

ment  of  the  suffering  and  the  distressed.  Besides, 
Buddhism  has  been  forced  to  new  life  and  a meas- 
ure of  reformation,  as  it  follows  the  Church  in 
establishing  associations  for  young  men,  schools, 
philanthropic  societies,  and  even  foreign  missions. 
A most  thoughtful  and  widely  read  man, — thor- 
oughly versed  in  Eastern  literature  as  in  Western 
philosophy,  science,  and  theology, — at  once  a 
Christian  and  a fine  representative  of  the  genius 
and  the  traditions  of  Japan,  tells  me  that  the 
highest  gift  of  our  religion  is  the  awakening  of 
the  personality.  The  universe,  to  the  East,  has 
been  a vast  system  and  man  its  highest,  though 
temporary,  expression.  But,  to  the  Christian,  man 
gains  a new  value  — as  the  child  of  the  eternal 
Father. 

In  religion  as  in  all  else  one  hesitates  to 
prophesy,  but  if  we  may  j udge  from  the  past  and 
from  our  knowledge  of  Japanese  nature,  we  may 
venture  to  predict  that  Christianity  will  win  large 
and  direct  success  only  as  there  arises  some  native 
apostle  who  shall  command  the  confidence  and 
excite  the  enthusiasm  of  his  countrymen.  Already 
there  are  competent  leaders  who  have  proved  what 
men  of  self-sacrificing  devotion  and  of  strong  per- 
sonality can  accomplish,  but  the  turning  of  the 
nation  to  Christianity  can  be  the  work  only  of  a 
Japanese  St.  Paul,  Luther,  or  Wesley. 

The  new  Japan  is  not  picturesque  like  the  old: 
the  foreign  costume  is  still  ill -made  and  awk- 
wardly worn,  the  old  castle  walls  fall  into  decay, 


The  Awakening  61 

the  feudal  mansions  are  replaced  by  ugly  barracks, 
and  two-sworded  samurai  no  longer  swagger  in 
the  streets;  the  dual  Government  with  its  mystery 
is  gone,  and  the  daimyo  are  unromantic  men  of 
wealth  living  in  new  houses  built  in  a semi- foreign 
style.  The  romance  disappears,  but  instead  there 
is  the  throbbing  young  life  with  its  chivalry  and 
patriotism,  as  intense  as  ever  the  fathers  felt. 
Transitions  are  unlovely,  but  in  this  bustling, 
un poetic  new  Japan  is  the  promise  of  better  things 
than  old  Japan  has  ever  known. 


CHAPTER  VI 


BUDDHISM  : THE)  RELIGION  OF  THEJ  COMMON 

pfopue; 


E have  briefly  sketched  the  development  of 


the  people  as  a background,  and  now  we 


shall  attempt  to  penetrate  a little  into  their  life, 
seeking  to  understand  their  thoughts  and  to  know 
their  feelings.  In  the  new  Japan  the  old  persists, 
and  we  shall  start  with  it,  the  untouched  life  which 
still  runs  on  as  in  the  centuries  gone  by.  Eet  us 
begin  with  the  Buddhist  religion,  as  throughout 
the  whole  history  it  has  been  pre-eminent  in  fur- 
nishing the  form  and  fashion  in  which  Japanese 
life  has  shaped  itself. 

Buddhism  has  covered  Japan  with  its  temples 
and  fills  the  air  with  the  melody  of  its  sweet-toned 
bells;  its  influence  has  pervaded  all  society,  and 
its  impress  on  the  national  character  remains.  It 
came  to  the  Empire  in  the  formative  period  of  the 
nation’s  life,  winning  its  way  without  serious  ri- 
valry and  with  all  external  conditions  favourable 
— Korea  and  China,  literature,  art,  and  civilisa- 
tion were  its  allies,  and  kings  and  princes  were  its 
foster-fathers. 


62 


Buddhism 


63 


Buddhism  is  divided  into  two  great  parts,  the 
Northern  and  the  Southern  School,  more  divergent 
than  are  Roman  Catholicism  and  Protestantism. 
The  Northern  School,  called  by  itself  the  Great 
Vehicle,  is  very  different  from  the  primitive  faith, 
and  Japanese  Buddhism  is  of  the  Great  Vehicle — 
farthest  in  geographical  position  from  the  source 
and  most  divergent  in  its  forms,  Indian,  Thibetan, 
Chinese,  and  Japanese  changes  concealing  Gau- 
tama’s teaching.  His  very  name  takes  inferior 
place  in  the  list  of  gods  and  Buddhas,  and  a glance 
about  the  temples  shows  the  eclectic  character  of 
the  faith.  Here  are  the  gods  of  that  old  faith 
which  Gautama  sought  to  destroy,  Brahma,  In- 
dra,  and  many  more  rising  victorious  within  the 
temples  of  the  hostile  faith.  With  these  are  Bud- 
dhas many,  unhistoric  and  unreal,  usurping  the 
place  of  the  historic  Buddha,  Gautama  of  In- 
dia. Then  come  the  Bodhisattva,  creatures  wholly 
alien  to  the  early  creed  and  subversive  of  its  most 
distinctive  features;  two  of  these,  the  thousand- 
armed Kwanon  and  Amida,  having  the  greatest 
throngs  of  worshippers.  And  last  are  native 
gods,  heroes,  foxes,  ancient  emperors,  strange 
trees,  curious  stones,  and  divine  mountains,  with 
sun  and  moon  and  divinities  of  the  kitchen  and 
the  gate,  and  others  innumerable  dividing  the 
worship  and  the  gifts.  As  the  priest  in  a temple 
in  Nikko  said  one  day:  “ Our  sect  is  liberal,  yes, 
we  worship  all — your  Jesus  as  willingly  as  the 
rest.”  The  worship  has  many  varieties:  ordi- 


64 


Japanese  Life 

narily  the  devotee  is  content  with  bowing  his 
head,  clapping  his  hands,  repeating  a prayer  in 
an  unknown  tongue,  and  throwing  a coin  into  a 
box.  Sometimes  groups  of  worshippers  gather 
with  common  prayer  and  chantings  to  the  noise 
of  drums,  with  the  use  of  incense  and  proces- 
sionals. Much  dependence  is  placed  on  magic 
formulae  and  charms;  the  reading  of  sacred  books 
gains  a “ merit,’ * as  do  rounds  of  worship  in  desig- 
nated temples;  there  are  pilgrimages  to  famous 
shrines  and  mountains  with  a series  of  festivals. 
Sometimes  the  festivals  last  for  days,  when  all  the 
attractions  of  the  worship  are  in  full  force;  the 
temples  and  surrounding  groves  crowded  with 
thousands,  combining  picnic  with  pilgrimage. 
On  fixed  days  sermons  are  preached,  listened  to 
by  women  and  the  aged;  priests  in  their  robes  go 
around  the  streets,  droning  prayers,  ringing  bells, 
and  seeking  pious  alms. 

Few  of  the  worshippers  know  the  meaning  of 
the  rites,  and  it  is  “ like  people  like  priest.  ’ * Only 
the  elect  of  the  brotherhood  really  understand 
their  creed,  and  gaining  information  by  inquiry  is 
wearisome,  the  answers  being  so  uniformly  wrong. 
The  many  sects  differ  more  than  even  our  Christ- 
ian denominations;  some  worship  all  of  the  Bud- 
dhas, the  Indian  gods  and  the  native  saints;  some 
worship  only  Amida,  Buddha  of  Boundless  Tight; 
some  are  saved  by  the  painful  way  of  works,  and 
some  gain  heaven  by  the  single  repetition  of  a 
prayer.  Some  hold  forth  Nirvana  as  the  reward 


THE  APPROACH  TO  THE  SHRINE.  NIKKO. 


Buddhism 


65 


of  holiness,  and  some  promise  a sensuous  paradise 
in  return  for  faith;  some  accept  the  interminable 
Chinese  canon,  some  are  content  with  a single 
book,  and  some  hold  all  learning  vain;  some  are 
philosophical,  some  trust  to  vacant  contemplation, 
and  some  praise  ignorance.  There  are  ortho- 
dox and  reformed  Buddhists  ; the  orthodox  reject 
wealth,  meat,  marriage,  and  speak  of  Nirvana;  the 
reformed  marry,  eat  as  they  please,  and  expect 
a paradise.  In  all  the  sects,  however,  the  noble 
eightfold  path  has  been  largely  overgrown  and 
the  ethical  influence  is  inconsiderable.  At  an 
early  period  indeed  the  Buddhists  in  China 
adopted  the  Confucian  ethics,  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  the  antagonism  between  the  two  systems  is 
irreconcilable,  for  Buddhism  chiefly  comes  to 
mean  withdrawal  from  the  active  duties  of  every 
day,  and  acceptance  of  an  existence  devoted  to 
rites  or  contemplation,  while  the  Chinese  morality 
insists  upon  the  importance  of  the  common  life. 
There  are  no  sacraments,  there  are  no  priests  in 
the  proper  sense,  for  as  men  devoted  to  the  way 
of  salvation,  the  only  influence  of  the  monks  upon 
the  multitude  is  from  their  willingness  to  help 
men  to  gain  merit  by  receiving  alms.  Rigid 
Buddhists,  laymen,  maintain  a careful  account 
with  themselves  of  merits  and  demerits,  a system 
of  religious  bookkeeping,  striking  the  balance  at 
the  close  of  the  year  being  the  chief  part  of  their 
sacred  activity. 

The  system  of  Buddhism  in  the  beginning  of 
s 


66 


Japanese  Life 

the  Tokugawa  regime  lost  much  of  its  influence 
over  educated  men  and  became  for  them  only  a 
system  of  burial  and  other  rites.  For  the  common 
people  it  remained,  and  still  remains  to-day,  with- 
out dogma,  without  moral  teaching,  without  much 
appeal  to  the  intelligence,  but  with  a large  appeal 
to  the  aesthetic  sensibilities.  Nowhere,  perhaps, 
have  the  accessories  of  religion  been  more  care- 
fully studied,  and  in  no  other  land  is  the  result 
more  attractive  to  the  sense.  Here  is  nothing  re- 
pulsive, and  the  art  of  an  artistic  people  finds  in  the 
places  of  worship  its  highest  expression.  It  is 
difficult  to  realise  that  after  all  the  creed  is  exotic, 
so  suited  is  it  to  its  environment.  There  have 
been  action  and  reaction,  and  Buddhism  is  of  all 
religions  most  responsive  to  outward  influences, 
yet  in  all  the  general  type  remains  the  same. 

Its  philosophy,  mysterious  and  agnostic,  is  a 
dreamy  idealism  which  gives  up  the  search  for 
origins  as  unattainable  and  contents  itself  with 
phenomena.  It  cares  nothing  for  logic,  but  is 
at  once  mystic  and  philosophical,  its  system  dis- 
covering itself  only  to  diligent  search,  with  always 
room  for  debate  as  to  its  meaning.  In  its  thor- 
oughgoing historic  forms  it  binds  itself  to  no  sharp 
definitions,  but  is  all  things  to  all  men,  though 
a certain  adherence  to  type  must  be  recognised. 
Its  background  is  unchanging  fate.  The  universe 
follows  law:  there  are  birth,  growth,  strength,  de- 
cay, and  resolution  again  into  the  primitive  ele- 
ments, for  the  world  has  its  birth,  growth,  maturity, 


Buddhism  67 

and  death,  like  men,  and  after  death  is  chaos,  and 
then  the  endless  round  begins  again. 

“ That  which  hath  been  is  that  which  shall  be; 
and  that  which  hath  been  done  is  that  which  shall 
be  done;  and  there  is  nothing  new  under  the  sun.” 
Not  only  does  the  universe  follow  for  ever  the  same 
general  laws,  but  the  particulars  are  repeated  in 
detail,  so  that  there  is  constant  revolution,  but  no 
lasting  or  real  progress.  States  and  individuals 
repeat  the  same  old  story;  in  the  world  age  which 
is  to  come  the  history  of  our  age  shall  repeat  itself, 
as  we  but  play  over  again  the  drama  that  has  been 
played  an  hundred  times  before.  “ One  genera- 
tion goeth  and  another  generation  cometh,  the 
sun  also  ariseth  and  the  sun  goeth  down  and 
hasteth  to  his  place  where  he  ariseth;  the  wind 
moveth  toward  the  south  and  thither  up  into  the 
north;  it  turneth  about  continually  in  its  course 
and  the  wind  returneth  again  into  its  circuits;  all 
the  rivers  run  into  the  sea,  yet  the  sea  is  not  full; 
into  the  place  whither  the  rivers  go,  thither  they 
go  again.”  Ecclesiastes  sounds  like  a Buddhist 
sutra.  But  the  Indian  system  does  not  stop  with 
this  material  world;  heaven  and  hell  and  the  gods 
and  devils  share  in  the  ceaseless  and  fruitless 
round;  there  is  no  eternal  good,  there  is  no  eter- 
nity, but  only  everlasting  change.  “Vanity  of 
vanities,  saith  the  preacher;  vanity  of  vanities,  all 
is  vanity.  All  things  are  full  of  weariness,  man 
cannot  utter  it;  the  eye  is  not  satisfied  with  see- 
ing, nor  the  ear  filled  with  hearing.”  This  is  the 


68 


Japanese  Life 

beginning  of  wisdom,  a good  understanding  shall 
they  have  that  keep  its  precepts.  Man  is  part  of 
this  fleeting  world  and  is  combined  of  offensive 
impurities;  he  is  full  of  decay  and  death;  let  him 
consider  his  end  and  his  strength  will  be  an 
offence  to  him  and  his  beauty  but  the  witness  to 
a sepulchre.  The  longest  prosperity  is  a dream 
and  the  highest  hope  ends  in  death.  Man  is 
“such  stuff  as  dreams  are  made  on”  “and  the 
great  globe  itself,  yea,  all  which  it  inherit  shall 
dissolve,  and  like  this  insubstantial  pageant 
faded,  leave  not  a rack  behind.”  The  imper- 
manence of  all  is  the  alpha  and  omega  of  philoso- 
phy, and  this  philosophy  is  the  guide  of  life. 

Children  may  amuse  themselves  with  passing 
toys,  but  men  seek  permanent  possessions;  how 
shall  their  desires  be  gratified  since  all  things  pass 
away,  and  not  in  this  world  only,  but  in  that  which 
is  to  come;  for  if  we  heap  heaven  on  heavens,  and 
heavens  on  top  of  these,  and  express  their  duration 
by  millions  of  years  until  our  imagination  is  ex- 
hausted, yet  the  end  must  come:  even  the  highest 
and  most  spiritual  sphere  of  all  is  part  of  the  uni- 
versal change.  The  ages  there  are  passed  in  bliss, 
but  what  passes,  however  long,  at  last  is  past;  so 
the  highest  good  is  relative,  for  who  knows  what 
decree  of  fate  may  hurl  the  gods  into  hell  itself? 
Why,  then,  should  man  be  deceived  by  this  bor- 
rowed lodging  which  he  calls  his  own  or  struggle 
for  its  happiness,  since  he  must  go  on  his  way  so 
soon  ? so  the  motive  that  incites  to  pursuit  of  hap- 


Buddhism  69 

piness  is  cut  as  we  learn  the  impossibility  of  at- 
taining it,  and  we  turn  away  from  life  itself. 

Life  comes  from  desire,  so  that  if  we  cease  to 
fear  evil  or  to  desire  good,  we  shall  cease  to  exist. 
The  Buddha  only  is  enlightened,  since  he  learns 
this  truth  not  merely  for  himself,  but  points  out 
the  path  that  leads  to  its  attainment.  Salvation 
is  not  from  sacrifice  or  prayers;  the  gods  cannot 
give  it,  since  they  need  it  as  really  as  do  men;  the 
Buddha  himself  cannot  bestow  it,  but  can  only 
point  out  the  way.  Men  must  save  themselves 
by  the  noble  eightfold  path — right  doctrine,  right 
purpose,  right  tasks,  right  actions,  right  living, 
right  exertion,  right  memory,  right  meditation. 
Those  who  walk  this  path  must  break  away  from 
home  and  family  and  live  as  monks.  Should  all 
accept  the  truth,  the  business  of  the  world  would 
stop  at  once  and  the  race  would  die. 

But  men  who  cannot  thus  at  once  leave  all  can 
only  hope  for  a future  happier  birth,  when  they 
can  fulfil  the  law,  and  the  ethics  of  Buddha  are 
not  the  only  means  by  which  salvation  can  be  at- 
tained. To  feed  a Buddha  is  better  than  to  spend 
a life  in  toilsome  obedience,  and  even  to  feed  a 
priest  is  far  more  than  giving  alms  to  a common 
man;  to  listen  to  a Buddhist  is  to  gain  a merit, 
otherwise  unattainable,  but  the  light  grows  dim 
as  the  ages  pass.  While  Gautama  was  alive 
thousands  believed  on  him,  but  after  his  extinc- 
tion the  word,  though  it  still  had  power,  grew 
less  and  less  as  time  went  on  until  at  last  all 


70 


Japanese  Life 

saving  power  has  gone  and  none  attains  salvation-, 
but  by  and  by,  when  things  are  at  their  worst, 
another  Buddha  shall  come  and  the  round  begin 
again. 

Men’s  deeds  go  from  age  to  age;  there  is  no 
soul,  but  in  endless  incarnations  the  sum  of  all  our 
acts  lives  on  and  finds  fit  embodiment  again  in 
horrid  shapes  as  insects,  snakes,  or  devils,  or  it 
may  live  again  in  angel  forms;  down  in  an  un- 
ending line  through  ages  and  through  worlds  for 
ever  goes  the  product  of  our  lives,  and  we  ourselves 
are  the  product  of  those  who  have  preceded  us, 
our  place  and  character  fixed  by  the  unchanging 
decree  of  law.  There  is  a spiritual  atavism,  for 
law  sometimes  suspends  the  execution  of  its  de- 
cree and  happiness  may  seem  to  follow  an  evil 
life,  but  it  is  only  the  postponed  reward  of  past 
virtue,  and  punishment  is  sure  to  strike  relent- 
lessly in  the  future;  thus  the  saint  may  dwell  in 
the  highest  heaven  only  to  be  hurled  down  at  last 
to  hell  in  consequence  of  long-past  misdeeds. 

The  greatest  sect  in  Japan  in  the  number  of  its 
adherents  turned  away  from  all  this  system,  its 
founder  gave  up  even  the  worship  of  the  historic 
Buddha  and  substituted  a mythological  being; 
indeed,  so  transformed  was  the  faith  that  not  a 
single  characteristic  feature  was  left  untouched; 
Amida,  Buddha  of  boundless  light,  has  never 
been  on  earth  and  yet,  so  infinite  is  his  merit  and 
compassion,  that  a single  repetition  of  his  name 
gives  salvation.  This  salvation  is  to  no  mysteri- 


Buddhism 


7 1 


ous  and  transcendent  Nirvana,  but  to  a paradise  in 
the  West  where  all  is  happiness.  In  the  Middle 
Ages  this  sect  was  foremost  in  war,  joining  politics 
to  religion;  its  leaders  are  the  most  unpriestly,  and 
of  late  years  it  has  shown  the  most  vitality,  build- 
ing new  temples  and  sending  its  missionaries  to 
Korea  and  its  students  to  Oxford;  its  priests 
marry,  and  its  devotees  send  concubines  as  gifts  to 
the  head  of  their  sect. 

Let  us  visit  a Buddhist  temple  and  see  it  at  its 
best.  The  misty  rain  drifts  unceasing  past  and 
we  catch  dimly  through  the  rifts  in  the  clouds  the 
rushing  torrent  far  below;  waterfall  and  river  and 
waving  pines  mingle  their  soft  voices  with  the 
endless  drip  from  roof  and  balcony;  the  matted 
floor  yields  no  sound  when  trodden  by  shoeless 
feet;  the  translucent  slides  are  pushed  aside,  and 
nothing  separates  the  world  within  from  the  world 
without.  As  we  rest  motionless  upon  the  mats 
there  floats  upon  the  curtained  air  the  soft,  deep 
tones  of  a mighty  temple  bell;  it  speaks  to  us  of 
sorrow,  of  the  fleeting  world,  and  bids  us  compose 
ourselves  for  quiet  contemplation.  Slowly  the 
curtain  rises  before  our  eyes,  but  hangs  motionless, 
giving  a passing  glimpse  of  time  and  sense  and 
this  unreal,  mysterious,  phantom  earth.  We  are 
resting  in  the  dwelling  of  a priest,  a low,  one- 
storied cottage  ; its  tiny  rooms  are  partitioned  by 
opaque  screens,  sliding  in  polished  grooves;  its 
fine-grained  wood  ceiling  is  upheld  by  polished 
wooden  posts,  and  on  the  floor  are  clean  white 


72 


Japanese  Life 


mats.  In  the  alcove  at  the  farther  end  hangs  a 
verse  of  poetry  and  on  the  shelf  beside  it  rests  a 
vase  with  a branch  of  a flowering  tree;  beyond 
the  polished  veranda  is  a quiet  garden,  stones 
and  walks  and  trees  and  flowers  arranged  to  lead 
the  mind  to  sacred  thought. 

Going  out  through  the  garden  by  a rustic  gate 
into  the  green  lane,  with  high,  thick  hedge  on 
either  side  and  towering  pines  above  and  dripping 
ferns  in  sheltered  nooks  or  clinging  to  decaying 
walls  of  stone,  we  see,  back  amid  the  trees,  the 
deep  red  of  the  temple  walls  and  the  long  sweep 
of  its  great  tiled  roof.  Within  a heavy  gateway 
is  a gravelled  court  with  rows  of  great  lanterns, 
made  of  bronze  and  stone,  mortuary  monuments, 
and  queer,  misshapen  pines  peep  over  a narrow 
wall.  An  elaborately  carved  gateway,  the  posts 
enormous  dragons,  gives  entrance  to  a smaller 
court  beyond,  where  is  the  temple,  decorated  in 
gilt  and  lacquer,  with  flowers  and  leaves  and  birds 
and  beasts  minutely  carved.  Within  the  temple 
are  shrines  and  images  and  brocaded  hangings 
and  smoking  incense  and  deep-toned  drums  and 
silver  bells  and  shaven  priests  and  worshippers. 
We  wait  until  the  prayers  are  said,  and  after 
the  chanting  is  ended  and  the  worshippers  are 
gone  and  the  missals  restored  to  their  lacquered 
boxes  we  still  rest  and  wait,  recalling  the  long, 
strange  history  embodied  in  the  ceremony  we 
have  seen  and  in  the  building  in  which  we  rest. 
Talking  to  the  priest,  he  asked  us: 


A TEMPLE  IN  NIKKO.  INTERIOR. 


Buddhism 


73 


“ Do  you  believe  in  the  divinity  of  Christ?  ” 

“ Most  assuredly  I do.” 

“ Ah,  of  course,  you  are  quite  correct,  He  is 
God.” 

“ So  then  you  agree  with  me  and  are  a Christ- 
ain?” 

“ Of  course  not,  and  so,  therefore,  Jesus  is  not 
God.” 

“ Oh,  I understand  you  perfectly;  everything 
is  in  our  thought  and  as  we  think  it ; and  Jesus  is 
and  is  not  divine,  as  you  believe  or  as  I.  In  the 
fullest  sense  the  world  is  my  idea  and  exists  only 
in  my  thought.” 

‘‘I  see  you  have  studied  our  philosophy  and  I 
am  pleased  at  so  good  an  interpretation.” 

“ But  it  seems  to  me  there  is  one  difficulty:  if 
everything  is  as  we  think  it,  we  have  no  test  of 
truth,  and  things  at  the  same  time  actually  are 
and  are  not.  Your  belief  is  self- destructive,  for 
surely  I may  deny  it  as  you  affirm  it.” 

“ Self-destructive — of  course  it  is;  so  is  all  rea- 
son and  all  logic;  that  is  my  contention,  there  is 
no  absolute  test  of  truth  and  no  proof  of  reason- 
ing. If  you  have  gone  so  far  as  to  see  this  truth, 
you  may  very  well  become  a Buddhist.” 

Heaven  and  hell  and  Amida  and  his  bound- 
less pity,  and  Gautama  and  his  noble  eightfold 
path,  exist  only  in  believing  thought, — that  is  the 
esoteric  teaching  of  the  Great  Vehicle  ; while  for 
the  common  man  there  are  ho-ben , pious  fictions, 
parables  told  as  truth  and  left  unexplained,  lead- 


74 


Japanese  Life 

ing  men  by  hopes  and  fears  to  do  right.  Thus 
Buddhism  is  a religion  for  the  masses  and  an 
idealistic  philosophy  for  the  initiated  few. 

The  earnest  men  among  the  priests  seek  attain- 
ment, some  of  them  by  contemplation,  with  long- 
continued  austerities  and  innumerable  rites;  some 
of  them  by  attempts  to  understand  their  system, 
striving  to  reduce  its  contradictions  to  harmony 
and  its  confusions  to  order.  Some  are  teachers 
of  the  young,  though  this  vocation  has  been 
given  up  with  the  introduction  of  the  new 
educational  system;  others  are  preachers  to  the 
people,  and  few  of  them  are  practical  helpers  of 
their  fellow- men.  The  idlers  and  the  immoral 
are  in  the  vast  majority,  and  people  in  general 
hold  them  in  slight  esteem.  But  Buddhism  in 
Japan  has  also  felt  the  new  life  and  is  slowly 
undergoing  a transformation,  to  what  end  no  one 
is  bold  enough  to  prophesy. 

The  strength  of  the  Buddhist  faith  in  Japan  has 
been  not  in  ethics  but  in  aesthetics — it  gave  a new 
charm  to  life  as  it  brought  the  Continental  civilisa- 
tion with  the  arts,  and  also  an  artistic  atmosphere; 
it  takes  reality  away,  putting  moonlight  for  the 
bright,  hot  sun  ; it  adds  the  thought  of  a mysteri- 
ous world  to  come  with  hopes  and  fears;  it  builds 
temples  and  displays  a curious  paraphernalia;  it 
has  grace  and  gentleness,  and  appeals  to  contem- 
plation and  repose;  it  ministers  to  a certain  ele- 
ment in  our  common  humanity. 

The  common  people,  as  we  have  seen,  never 


Buddhism 


75 


understood  its  dogmas,  but  they  worshipped  in 
its  temples  as  at  Shinto  shrines.  The  same  indis- 
criminating  worship  of  the  marvellous  continues 
in  our  age — the  simple  country  people  have  been 
known  to  stop  before  the  first  house  built  in  Euro- 
pean style  which  they  have  seen,  bow  their  heads, 
clap  their  hands  in  prayer,  offering,  as  to  shrines, 
the  fortieth  part  of  a cent,  and  pass  on.  And 
they  come  in  groups  into  Christian  churches  with 
the  same  acts  of  reverence.  As  they  do  not 
understand  the  symbols  before  their  eyes,  there 
remains  for  them  chiefly — as  ever  when  symbols 
take  the  place  of  thought  — a crude  idolatry. 
Doubtless  something  of  the  teaching  has  pene- 
trated their  minds — a belief  in  a future  life  of  re- 
wards and  punishments  and  a mild  faith  in  the 
efficacy  of  certain  rites. 

As  Buddhism  has  incorporated  the  ancient 
Shinto  with  itself,  so,  in  the  belief  of  the  people, 
there  remain  also  superstitions  more  ancient  than 
either  of  these  religions — hypnotic  trances,  mind- 
reading, second  sight,  magic,  charms,  possession 
by  demons,  by  foxes,  by  badgers — traditions  of 
strange,  uncanny  beasts,  and  odd  survivals  of  prim- 
itive beliefs  long  since  disowned.  But,  through 
some  inherent  virtue,  these  superstitions  are  not 
taken  seriously  enough  to  affect  the  prevailing 
contentment  and  do  not  influence  life  greatly  ex- 
cepting for  a few  abnormally  constituted  individ- 
uals. The  emotional  character  of  the  Japanese 
shows  itself  in  the  formation  from  time  to  time 


76 


Japanese  Life 

of  new  sects  and  religions,  variously  compounded 
from  Shinto,  Buddhist,  and  Confucian  sources, 
with,  in  the  latest,  some  traces  of  Christian  in- 
fluence. The  sects  flourish  for  a time,  attracting 
multitudes  of  followers,  and  then  disappear  as 
speedily  and  more  silently  than  they  came. 

In  the  ancient  world  heaven  and  earth  were  not 
widely  separated,  nor  have  the  religious  and  the 
secular  been  held  distinct  by  the  people.  There 
has  been  no  such  conception  formed  as  that  of 
mediaeval  Christendom,  of  a supernatural  sphere 
let  down  out  of  heaven  on  our  common  earth. 
Indeed,  the  very  distinction  between  mind  and 
matter  is  not  clear,  for,  from  one  point  of  view  the 
mind  is  itself  material  and,  from  another,  matter  is 
of  the  mind.  So,  too,  with  the  religious  and  the 
secular,  it  depends  upon  our  attitude,  for  natural 
and  supernatural  are  not  distinct  nor  opposite, 
but,  after  all,  only  varying  aspects  of  the  same 
great  facts.  None  the  less,  the  supernatural  has 
been  used  in  Japan,  as  elsewhere,  by  unscrupulous 
priests  as  means  for  impressing  the  imagination 
of  the  common  people. 

The  first  great  victory  of  the  Buddhist  faith 
over  the  masses  was  won  when  an  ingenious  priest 
in  the  ninth  century  A.d.  declared  that  the  ancient 
gods  and  heroes  were  incarnations  of  Buddha,  and 
from  that  day  the  priests  have  been  skilful  in  the 
invention  of  parables  and  wonders  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  ignorant.  But  such  means,  however 
efficacious  for  their  immediate  purpose,  are  full 


Buddhism 


77 


of  dangers;  and  so  the  Buddhists  themselves  dis- 
covered, for  ultimately  the  educated  men  of  the 
Empire  broke  with  the  faith  and  formed  a new 
religion  in  the  form  of  a rational  philosophy. 

As  we  have  stated,  Buddhism  made  conquest 
of  Japan  when  it  compromised  with  Shinto,  and 
swallowed  it.  The  plain  temples  of  the  native 
faith  were  filled  with  the  elaborate  utensils  of  the 
new  cult,  and  the  native  gods  were  adopted  as  in- 
carnations of  the  Indian  saint.  But  with  the 
downfall  of  the  Tokugawa  House  an  attempt  was 
made  to  reinstate  Shinto  in  its  simplicity.  So  the 
shrines  were  emptied  of  images  and  stripped  of 
ornaments,  for  the  Shinto  temple  is  simply  the 
ancient  cottage  slightly  improved.  It  is  small, 
with  thatched  roof,  and  a tiny  veranda  on  the 
four  sides.  Within  is  only  a mirror,  but  neither 
image,  nor  picture,  nor  ornament.  And  the  doc- 
trine is  as  empty  as  the  shrine:  there  is  none. 
Different  deities  are  worshipped  in  different  locali- 
ties and  at  different  times,  and  there  are  archaic 
rites,  with  simple  offerings  of  grains  and  grave 
obeisances.  The  priests  neither  preach  nor  cele- 
brate sacraments,  nor  are  instructed  in  theology, 
nor  are  guides  in  morals.  They  are  not  really 
priests,  but  laymen,  who  lead  in  the  sacred  rites 
and  repeat  the  hymns. 

Essentially  it  is  the  worship  of  the  marvellous, 
so  one  finds  a shrine  wherever  there  is  a wonder, 
a strange  tree  or  stone,  a waterfall,  a cave,  a high 
mountain  peak.  And  it  is  associated  with  the 


78 


Japanese  Life 

mysteries  of  existence,  with  the  processes  of  na- 
ture, with  death,  and  even  with  the  simple  life  at 
home.  But  it  has  no  teaching,  being  simply  the 
expression  of  reverence.  Thus  there  have  been 
debates  as  to  whether  the  rites  are  really  worship 
or  only  the  natural  expression  the  people  feel 
in  the  presence  of  the  great  and  wonderful.  So 
the  Government  would  have  it,  since  it  has  taken 
Shinto  for  its  rites  and  requires  participation  from 
officials  in  the  ceremonies,  though  religious  lib- 
erty is  decreed  in  the  Constitution. 

In  the  palace  the  ceremony  is  very  simple.  At 
dawn  boughs  of  a sacred  tree  are  laid  before  the 
shrines,  and  sticks  of  incense  are  prepared.  Then, 
after  offerings  of  cloth  and  grains,  the  Emperor 
enters,  takes  a bough,  waves  it,  bows  his  head, 
lights  a stick  of  incense,  repeats  a prayer,  and  re- 
tires. Essentially  the  service  is  the  same  for  all, 
and  many  take  part  in  it  as  a mere  custom,  with- 
out meaning  and  without  denying  other  beliefs. 

As  undogmatic  Buddhism  has  given  a certain 
complexion  to  life,  making  common  a belief  in  a 
future  state  of  rewards  and  punishments,  so  has 
Shinto  become  associated  with  the  divinity  of  the 
State,  and  its  rites  the  expression  of  patriotism. 
Possibly  it  is  not  less  powerful,  in  that  it  has  no 
doctrines  to  be  doubted  and  no  laws  to  be  violated, 
but  is  purely  emotional — the  most  primitive  form 
of  the  religious  instinct  surviving  among  civilised 
peoples.  It  can  seek'  no  converts,  and  its  votaries 
do  not  try  to  understand  its  meaning.  Its  legends 


Buddhism 


79 


may  be  taken  for  fairy  tales — or  forgotten — its 
deities  may  be  recognised  as  the  forces  of  nature 
or  as  the  spirits  of  ancestors — and  participation  in 
its  rites  may  be  explained  as  simple  conformity 
to  immemorial  custom,  and  yet  its  essential  spirit 
remains — an  unreasoning  wonder  and  reverence  in 
the  presence  of  the  marvels  of  heaven  and  earth 
and  man. 


CHAPTER  VII 


CONFUCIANISM  : TH F RFUGION  OF  EDUCATED 

MEN 

HE  Renaissance  in  the  seventeenth  century 


separated  still  more  widely  the  gentry  and 
the  common  people,  for  the  samurai , adding  letters 
to  arms,  made  his  superiority  more  unapproach- 
able. The  merchant,  farmer,  and  artisan  studied 
just  enough  to  meet  the  simple  requirements  of 
their  daily  task  and  did  not  trouble  themselves 
with  literature  but,  to  the  samurai , letters  became 
a lifelong  pursuit.  The  mastery  of  the  ideographs 
was  an  unending  task,  and  to  this  were  added  phi- 
losophy, history,  and  ethics.  In  their  own  way 
many  men  were  highly  accomplished  and,  as  no 
high  duty  laid  upon  them  the  teaching  of  their 
countrymen,  to  the  pride  of  birth  they  joined  the 
pride  of  scholarship.  Their  learning  was  of  the 
old-fashioned  sort,  wdth  tendencies  to  pedantry,  and 
pedantic  many  of  them  became,  talking  an  idiom 
more  removed  from  common  speech  than  was  ever 
Johnsonese.  Language,  purpose,  modes  of  life 
and  thought,  social  position,  separating  them  from 


80 


Confucianism 


81 


their  countrymen,  only  one  other  difference  was 
possible,  a difference  of  religion,  and  this  came 
in  time.  It  is  true  that  the  Tokugawa  family 
was  friendly  to  the  Buddhists,  the  priests  were 
befriended,  the  temples  endowed,  and  the  Christ- 
ians extirpated.  Yet  soon  Buddhism  ceased  to 
be  the  teacher  of  the  nation.  With  peace  came  a 
revival  of  learning,  and  another  great  wave  of  for- 
eign influence  rolled  across  the  people.  This  time 
it  was  the  modern  Chinese  philosophy  and  ethics. 
Again  the  higher  classes  yielded  and  the  lower  re- 
sisted. Confucianism  came  to  rule  the  intelligence 
of  the  nation  and  Buddhism  became  the  religion 
of  the  lowly,  relegated  to  the  position  it  had  given 
Shinto  a thousand  years  before. 

It  was  another  Confucianism,  not  the  ancient 
ally  of  Buddhism.  It  aimed  no  longer  chiefly  at 
polity,  but  sought  to  explain  the  deep  problems 
of  existence.  It  had  become  a philosophy,  a re- 
ligion, and  its  alliance  with  Buddhism  and  Taoism 
had  given  place  to  bitter  antipathy  and  contempt. 

It  was  in  the  eleventh  century  of  our  era  that 
the  new  philosophy  arose  in  China,  when  a group 
of  schoolmen  arose  dissatisfied  with  the  earlier 
unsystematic  exposition  of  the  Confucian  ethics. 
They  transformed  the  group  of  aphorisms  and 
precepts  into  an  ontological  philosophy.  As  the 
schoolmen  of  Europe  mingled  elements  drawn 
from  Grecian  and  Oriental  philosophy  with  the 
teaching  of  Christ  and  the  apostles,  so  did  these 

of  China  construct  their  system  of  heterogeneous 

6 


82 


Japanese  Life 

material,  Confucian,  Buddhist,  and  Taoist.  The 
last  two,  Buddhism  and  Taoism,  were  vehemently 
rejected  as  heretical,  though  the  indebtedness  to 
their  mysticism,  metaphysics,  and  cosmology  was 
none  the  less  real.  As  the  school  philosophy  ruled 
European  thought  for  centuries  and  the  school 
theology  was  the  medium  through  which  the 
teaching  of  Christ  was  dimly  seen,  so  did  scho- 
lasticism rule  in  the  Far  Fast,  becoming  the 
orthodox  philosophy  and  the  orthodox  interpre- 
tation of  the  words  of  Confucius.  To  disregard 
this  scholasticism  and  to  seek  to  understand  the 
thought  of  the  East  from  the  texts  of  Confucius 
and  Mencius  is  as  if  we  should  ignore  the  whole 
development  of  philosophy  and  theology  in  Europe 
and  consider  the  synoptic  gospels  as  having  satis- 
fied the  West  for  eighteen  hundred  years. 

This  philosophy  became  authoritative  in  China 
and,  in  spite  of  protests  and  dissent,  still  main- 
tains its  ancient  place.  It  only  is  orthodox.  In 
Japan,  too,  it  was  adopted  as  authoritative  and  all 
other  teaching  was  forbidden.  The  ages  of  Bud- 
dhist faith  came  to  an  end  and  intelligent  men 
accepted  the  pantheistic  doctrine  which  called 
itself  by  the  name  of  China’s  ancient  sage. 

The  problem  of  philosophy  was  to  find  the 
changeless  in  the  midst  of  change.  The  im- 
permanence of  all  things  is  the  first  of  Buddhist 
truths,  and  as  Confucius  stood  by  the  flowing 
river  he,  too,  exclaimed:  “All  is  like  that.  Day 
or  night  it  ceases  not!  ’’ 


Confucianism 


83 


Wind  and  sunshine,  form  and  life,  the  matter 
and  structure  of  the  world  itself,  all  pass  away. 
The  inner  world,  too,  thought,  feeling,  love,  hate, 
ambitions,  hopes,  our  conscious  selves,  all  are  as 
the  clouds  which  form  and  disappear.  Push  in- 
vestigation never  so  far,  ask  how  the  worlds  were 
made  from  that  which  does  not  appear,  and  to  the 
farthest  limit  there  is  constant  change.  From 
chaos  to  cosmos  and  back  to  cosmos  again,  in 
never-ending  circles  is  no  abiding-place,  but  only 
transformations  endless,  with  no  place,  or  time,  or 
thing,  or  being  apart  from  it. 

Does  Buddhism  then  rightly  teach  that  the 
world  is  all  a deception,  a mirage  ? Are  sorrow 
and  joy,  truth  and  falsehood,  good  and  evil  in- 
separably joined,  and  is  it  the  beginning  of  wis- 
dom to  learn  that  all  is  a dream,  “without  a 
world  to  dream  of  or  a soul  to  dream  ’ 9 ? 

No,  Buddhism  is  wrong.  All  does  not  pass 
away.  From  the  beginning,  from  the  limitless 
which  preceded  the  ultimate  limit,  in  all  changes 
there  has  remained  unchanged  a “ Way,”  a 
law.  a truth,  an  order.  It  abides  eternal.  It 
does  not  become,  it  is.  It  is  the  true  substance 
of  all.  To  know  it  is  wisdom,  and  to  obey  it 
virtue. 

There  is  cosmic  order,  though  all  things  change. 
Change  itself  submits  to  law.  Kven  in  chaos  there 
is  law,  and  so  when  the  full  time  has  come  chaos 
turns  slowly  to  cosmos,  as  cosmos,  when  its  time 
has  run  away,  returns  to  formlessness. 


84 


Japanese  Life 

9 

logically  law  precedes  change,  for  change  itself 
follows  law,  but  in  time  both  are  for  ever.  There 
is  no  change  without  law,  and  no  law  save  in 
change.  Neither  precedes  or  outlasts  the  other. 
Taw  is  immanent  and  never  is  by  or  of  itself,  for 
it  is  not  an  abstract,  empty  thought,  but  always 
is  embodied — the  two,  the  changing  and  the  un- 
changeable, for  ever  knit  in  one. 

There  is  no  creation  but  an  unending  process. 
When  the  classics  say  that  the  Supreme  Tord  be- 
stows, appoints,  protects,  creates,  the  meaning  is 
simply  that  the  unchanging  law  is  thus  and  so. 
Yet  is  the  universe  instinct  with  life.  Not  matter 
but  spirit  is  representative  of  the  macrocosm. 
Whatever  belongs  to  man’s  nature  belongs  to  it. 
He  is  the  “ little  heaven  and  earth,”  and  so  from 
him  we  come  to  know  the  “great  heaven  and 
earth.” 

The  macrocosm  responds  to  the  microcosm. 
When  man  is  righteous  he  communes  with  the 
good  powers  of  nature,  and  they  bless  him,  but 
when  he  does  ill  he  is  in  sympathy  with  all  evil 
forces,  and  they  come  to  him.  Throughout  the 
universe  is  a golden  thread  of  life  and  it  vibrates 
to  the  same  note  in  all  its  parts. 

Taw  is  righteousness  and  righteousness  is  law. 
The  law  is  one  in  many  manifestations:  benevo- 
lence, uprightness,  wisdom,  sincerity,  propriety, 
represent  it.  Taw  shows  itself  in  the  order  of  the 
heavens,  in  the  ceaseless  change  of  sun  and  moon 
and  stars,  unceasing  in  their  changes  but  unfail- 


Confucianism  85 

in g in  their  courses.  So  should  the  virtues  show 
in  the  emotions,  acts,  and  words  of  men. 

Philosophy  perceives  this  law,  while  unthinking 
men  see  only  change.  So  it  was  with  Buddha. 
He  saw  only  the  outer  and  failed  to  understand 
the  inner,  unchanging  law.  His  system  is  popu- 
lar with  the  crowd,  but  is  a hindrance  to  virtue. 
For  ethics  applies  philosophy  to  conduct.  It  sees 
the  true,  permanent  element,  and  values  that 
and  seeks  to  realise  the  law  in  life.  Based  on  a 
true  philosophy,  it  knows  that  the  essence  of  all 
things  is  one,  that  is,  law,  so  that  man  should 
make  righteousness  supreme.  Then  is  he  at 
peace.  Then  is  he  in  harmony  with  the  eternal 
verities.  Then  has  he  long  life  though  his  days 
in  the  flesh  are  few. 

As  righteousness  is  order,  evil  is  disorder.  It 
comes  from  the  ceaseless  change  whereby  the 
eternal  order  is  at  times  obscured.  Earthquakes, 
destructive  tempests,  unseasonable  frosts,  rain, 
drought,  obscure  the  decreed  order  and  bring 
their  host  of  evils.  So  in  the  State  do  mobs  and 
tumults  and  crimes  destroy  harmony  and  peace, 
and  in  the  individual  unruly  lusts  bring  man 
below  the  level  of  the  brutes. 

Let  every  one  follow  the  law  of  his  being.  Let 
each  man  stand  firm  in  the  station  in  which  he 
was  born.  Let  the  State  hold  fast  to  its  order 
established  by  the  Sages  ; the  key  to  philosophy, 
ethics,  polity,  is  in  their  books.  Intuitively  the 
Sage  knows  the  truth,  and  perfectly  he  practises 


86 


Japanese  Life 

it.  For  other  men’s  sake  he  has  written  down 
the  “ Way.”  So  study  is  for  us  a necessity  like 
food;  but  true  learning  is  humble,  and  perceives 
the  true  self.  Not  knowing  the  true  self,  we  are 
blind  of  heart,  study  we  never  so  much.  Without 
true  discernment  study  is  like  Sekko’s  love  for 
dragons.  He  painted  them  and  spent  days  and 
nights  in  admiration  of  his  work.  A living  dragon 
thought,  “ If  Sekko  so  fancies  painted  dragons 
how  great  will  be  his  love  for  me  ! ’ ’ but  when  he 
put  his  head  through  Sekko’s  window  the  artist 
was  panic-struck  and  fled. 

We  are  to  examine  self  as  we  read,  testing  the 
doctrine  of  obedience.  Thus  shall  we  compre- 
hend. When  by  study,  obedience,  and  reflection 
we  learn  our  oneness  with  unchanging  law  and 
when  we  find  in  all  things  the  same  eternal  truth 
we  attain  true  life  and  immortality.  We  are 
content,  though  we  die  at  night.  The  essential 
nature  is  not  destroyed,  but  at  death  returns  to 
the  primal  element  as  a drop  of  water  to  the  sea. 
At  one  with  the  imperishable  principles,  man  in 
his  law  outlasts  the  universe.  He  who  has  learned 
this  knows  the  truth  and  rests  in  perfect  peace. 

This  philosophy  proclaimed  itself  the  absolute 
truth.  It  is  the  eternal  “ Way  ” of  Heaven  and 
Earth.  Should  Sages  again  appear  they  would 
recognise  it  as  their  own.  It  could  accept  no 
compromise  but  in  ontology,  and  ethics  asked  im- 
plicit faith  and  obedience. 

Naturally  it  excited  opposition,  but  it  triumphed 


Confucianism 


87 


over  its  foes.  Buddhism  indeed  made  slight  re- 
sistance and  was  pushed  ignominiously  aside. 
Tater,  in  the  eighteenth  century,  Shinto  revived 
and  attacked  philosophy  as  false  and  foreign. 
But  the  chief  foes  were  of  its  own  household — 
rival  exponents  of  the  Confucian  ethics. 

There  were  pure  idealists,  who  found  all  truth 
in  their  own  minds  and  rejected  the  distinction  of 
change  and  law.  There  were  positivists,  who  cast 
aside  ontology  and  were  content  with  phenomena. 
And  there  were  critics,  who  charged  the  scholas- 
tics with  corrupting  the  truth  and  raised  the  cry, 
“Back  to  Confucius  ! ” But  against  them  all,  the 
orthodox  system  held  its  own  and  remained  the 
accepted  doctrine  until  the  advent  of  modern 
science  in  our  day.  Then  at  last  the  restrictions 
were  removed  and  it  appeared  that  hostile  criti- 
cism had  shaken  faith.  Few  indeed  held  to  the 
true  ontological  creed.  The  hostile  attack  had 
done  its  work.  It  had  prepared  for  new  philoso- 
phy and  for  new  science  the  Spirit  of  Old  Japan. 

This  philosophy  is  the  mature  expression  of  the 
Chinese  mind.  It  sufficiently  explains  familiar 
facts;  it  satisfies  the  philosophic  mind  as  it  looks 
beneath  phenomena  to  the  unchanging  reality;  it 
affords  a sure  basis  for  the  traditional  polity  and 
ethics.  It  contains  no  prophecy  and  has  no  vision 
of  a new  Jerusalem  descending  out  of  heaven. 
That  which  hath  been  ever  shall  be,  and  to  pre- 
serve the  unchanging  order  is  its  chief  end.  There 


88 


Japanese  Life 

shall  be  a new  heaven  and  a new  earth  in  a new 
cosmic  cycle,  but  they  can  only  repeat  the  same 
history  and  do  over  again  what  we  do  now.  The 
soul’s  one  faith  is  this:  though  confusion  seem  to 
endure  for  a night,  order  will  reappear  with  dawn. 
But  the  Buddhist  pessimism  is  shaken  off,  that 
ultimate  despair  of  the  world  and  life.  If  life  is 
not  loved,  neither  is  it  hated.  All  is  good  in  its 
time.  “ There  is  a time  to  be  born  and  a time  to 
die;  a time  to  kill  and  a time  to  heal;  a time  to 
weep  and  a time  to  laugh;  a time  to  love  and 
a time  to  hate;  a time  of  war  and  a time  of  peace 
— to  everything  a season  and  a time  to  every  pur- 
pose ’ ’ ; and  all  in  its  season  and  time  are  good. 
So,  too,  all  out  of  time  and  season  are  bad.  The 
fundamental  law  of  nature,  of  the  State,  and  of 
the  soul  is  one. 

It  is  illustrated  most  clearly  in  the  State,  where 
we  see  it  writ  large,  and  whence  we  may  learn, 
in  Plato’s  mode,  what  is  that  which  is  “ good.” 
Confucius  and  Mencius  and  their  chief  expositors 
have  been  statesmen.  In  the  Far  East  the  State 
rests  on  ethics  and  the  moralist  is  the  ruler.  The 
Empire  is  a pan  theocracy,  with  the  eternal  laws 
of  nature  as  set  down  by  the  Sages  as  constitution 
and  supreme  source  of  right.  On  this  law  rests 
the  throne  of  the  king.  His  ministers  are  teachers 
in  ethics,  and  an  examination  in  moral  philosophy 
is  the  test  for  office.  Public  and  private  morality 
are  one,  and  the  personal  virtue  of  the  ruler  is  the 
one  condition  of  the  welfare  of  the  body  politic. 


Confucianism 


89 


In  the  Golden  Age  in  China  long  ago,  the  Sage 
was  on  the  throne,  the  “ superior  man”  was  min- 
ister, and  all  in  authority  were  wise,  rank  being 
given  by  worthiness.  There  was  no  evil  man, 
though  the  common  folk  were  ignorant,  for  each 
was  in  his  rightful  place.  The  Sage  ruled  by  do- 
ing naught.  Tike  the  eternal  law,  it  was  enough 
that  he  exist.  As  men  see  his  righteousness  and 
come  in  contact  with  his  truth  they  naturally 
obey.  As  the  wind  moves  the  blades  of  grass  in- 
numerable in  the  broad  field,  not  all  at  once  but 
on  from  blade  to  blade,  so  his  influence  at  last 
touches  and  bows  each  unit  in  his  vast  domain. 

But  never  since  the  Golden  Age  has  there  been 
a Sage  upon  the  throne.  The  divine  order  has  not 
obtained.  At  best  there  has  been  only  an  approxi- 
mation. Sometimes  it  has  been  wholly  lost  when 
an  unworthy  ruler  has  taken  the  Empire  for  his 
own  and  used  it  for  the  gratification  of  his  lusts. 
Such  a ruler  is  no  king  and  against  him  rebellion 
is  a duty.  For  the  people  are  the  “ Heaven  ” of 
the  king,  the  reason  for  his  being.  Duty  is  his 
divine  right.  If  he  disregard  it,  ipso  facto , he  is 
no  king.  Never  was  a king  driven  from  his 
throne,  but  many  a “ fellow  ” has  been  stripped 
of  royal  robes. 

So  first  of  all  the  king  must  rule  himself. 
Eaws,  even  the  inspired  philosophy,  are  nothing 
if  the  ruler  does  not  embody  truth.  “ Teach  by 
example  and  men  follow;  by  words,  and  they  ac- 
cuse.” “ Government  is  by  the  man.  With 


90 


Japanese  Life 

him  it  is  complete:  when  he  is  destroyed  it 
ceases.”  So  when  thieves  abounded  Confucius 
said  to  the  ruler,  “ If  you  do  not  covet  they  will 
not  steal,  though  theft  be  praised.”  That  a ruler 
may  cause  strife  to  cease,  he  himself  must  be  un- 
selfish and  cease  to  strive.  Therefore  when  evils 
come  the  ruler  examines  self.  He  is  a link  join- 
ing man  and  nature.  Calamities  on  earth  and 
portents  in  the  sky  are  signals  of  his  unworthi- 
ness. 

As  the  king  obeys  Heaven,  so  do  the  officials 
obey  the  king.  Were  the  Sage  on  the  throne,  ab- 
solute obedience  and  silent  submission  would  be 
required;  but  besides  the  Sage  no  man  is  without 
error  and  sin.  The  minister  who  stands  next  his 
lord  must  advise,  must,  if  need  be,  remonstrate, 
though  such  remonstrance  be  more  dangerous 
than  the  position  of  the  foremost  spear  in  battle. 
But  the  minister  must  not  count  life  dear. 

The  noble  respects  his  ministers  and  entrusts 
the  administration  to  them;  he  nourishes  his 
men-at-arms:  he  cherishes  the  people.  The 

man-at-arms  is  single-hearted  in  loyalty  to  the 
lord  and  country;  the  peasant  obeys  the  laws, 
pays  his  tax,  and  diligently  follows  his  trade. 
The  highest  in  the  State  is  nearest  Heaven,  he  is 
most  completely  under  law  and  every  action  is  by 
rule.  Only  the  common  folk  have  liberty,  for  in- 
dustry and  peace  only  may  be  asked  of  them.  The 
nation  is  a family,  and  the  differences  in  rank  are 
decreed  by  Heaven.  What  matters  the  position 


Confucianism 


91 


any  one  may  occupy  ? L,et  each  stand  firm  in  his 
lot.  To  every  one  are  duties  to  superior  and  in- 
ferior, and  before  Heaven  there  is  no  difference. 

When  the  “ fellow  ” is  on  the  throne  he  selects 
his  ministers  by  his  fancies.  Philosophers  are  in 
obscurity.  The  officials  are  pedants  bound  fast 
by  rules  and  usages,  or  profligates  mercenary  and 
merciless.  The  people  are  uneasy,  avaricious, 
fond  of  gross  pleasure,  full  of  crime,  and,  at  last, 
rebellious.  Change  has  possession  of  the  State 
and  order  disappears. 

The  family  is  the  State  in  miniature  and  has  its 
decreed  order,  whose  preservation  is  virtue.  The 
first  duty  is  to  parents:  to  them  we  are  in- 
debted for  life  and  all  things,  and  no  service  can 
be  excessive.  They  educate  the  child  and  lead 
him  in  the  “ Way  ” lest  the  family  be  destroyed. 
The  wife  must  reverence  and  obey  her  husband’s 
parents  and  himself;  and  he  is  to  love  her,  but 
not  overmuch  or  to  the  neglect  of  parents.  The 
younger  brother  reverences  and  obeys  the  elder 
and  the  elder  befriends  the  younger. 

The  individual  is  of  importance  only  as  he  ful- 
fils the  duty  of  his  place.  To  forsake  that  place 
is  crime.  The  wise  man  cares  not  for  the  things 
which  change;  only  the  law,  the  order  which 
abides  has  value  in  his  eyes.  He  is  pure  when 
ruled  by  law;  he  is  outcast  when  ruled  by  lust. 
The  common  man  cannot  discern  the  truth,  and 
his  safety  is  in  being  under  some  wise  man’s  rule. 
But  the  wise  man  discerns.  He  knows  himself 


92 


Japanese  Life 

and  perceives  his  unity  with  the  everlasting  law. 
His  immortality  is  to  lose  himself  in  that  shining 
sea. 

With  modifications  Japan  accepted  this  phi- 
losophy. It  made  no  theoretical  amendments, 
and  even  its  hostile  criticism  was  reproduction 
of  Chinese  attacks,  excepting  as  Shinto  revived. 
Native  ethics  and  polity  there  were  none.  Indi- 
vidual, State,  and  family  were  formed  upon  the 
Chinese  model  when  peace  gave  leisure  for  theory 
to  form.  The  Chinese  scholastic  philosophy,  the 
Confucian  ethics,  the  polity  of  Mencius,  ruled 
thought  and  life.  Yet  there  were  unconscious 
amendment  and  adaptation. 

In  China  the  civil  mandarins  were  supreme,  and 
the  arts  and  offices  of  war  despised,  but  in  Japan 
arms  and  the  pen  were  as  the  two  wings  of  a bird. 
Yet  was  the  sword  in  greater  honour.  In  China 
the  Emperor  ruled,  but  in  Japan  he  was  in  strict 
retirement,  while  the  Shogun  ruled  and  the  whole 
organisation  was  military.  In  China  the  central 
rule  was  all,  but  in  Japan  virile  feudalism  held 
the  government  of  the  Shogwi  in  check.  In  China 
each  subject  was  equal  to  every  other  before  the 
law;  in  Japan  rank  was  hereditary  and  decreed  by 
Heaven.  In  China  filial  obedience  held  first  place; 
in  Japan,  feudal  loyalty.  China  was  the  embodi- 
ment of  peace;  Japan  a highly  organised  camp. 
In  China  war  has  ever  been  an  episode;  in  Japan 
peace  was  an  armed  truce.  Eoyalty,  obedience, 
self-sacrifice,  the  virtues  of  the  soldier,  these  were 


mm 


»» 

fLhvm'i kh 


m 


mM 


!§f 

;'Wfe 


■ ! m»- 

>i -it*** 


AT  DINNER. 


Confucianism 


93 


the  highest  manifestations  of  the  Spirit  of  Old 
Japan. 

A writer  of  the  seventeenth  century,  Kyuso 
Muro,  already  quoted,  tells  us  how  the  deeper 
problems  of  life  and  death  were  solved  by  a phi- 
losopher of  unshaken  faith. 

“ Returning  from  exercise,  some  young  men 
stopped  one  day  and  their  teacher  said  to  them : 
‘As  your  profession  is  that  of  arms  constant  drill 
is  necessary;  but  good  fortune  is  more  important 
than  skill  since  without  it  skill  avails  not.  Mori 
Musashi  no  Kami  was  called  the  demon  of  Mu- 
sashi,  so  skilful  and  strong  was  he;  but  at  Naga- 
kute  he  was  killed  instantly  by  a bullet,  and  what 
benefit  was  there  in  his  skill  and  courage  ? Skill 
rests  on  fortune;  so  study  this  most  earnestly. 
Your  instructors  teach  you  arms,  but  they  know 
not  the  study  of  fortune.  Such  as  I can  teach 
you  that!  ’ 

“ Then, one  replied:  ‘ I do  not  understand  this 
study  of  martial  fortune.  Surely  it  is  beyond 
man’s  control.  Could  it  be  acquired  by  study  all 
the  world  would  learn ! ’ He  shook  his  head : 
‘ Yes,  there  is  such  study.’  ‘ Tell  us  of  it  then,’ 
the  students  said ; and  he  went  on : 

“ ‘ Consider,  all  of  you!  Whence  is  fortune? 
From  Heaven!  Even  the  world  says,  “ Fortune 
is  in  Heaven.”  So  then  there  is  no  resource  save 
prayer  to  Heaven.  L,et  us  then  ask:  What  does 
Heaven  hate  and  what  does  Heaven  love?  It 
loves  benevolence  and  hates  malevolence.  It  loves 


94 


Japanese  Life 

truth  and  hates  untruth.  Its  heart  is  this,  that 
it  forms  all  things  and  unceasingly  begets  men. 
Even  when  in  autumn  and  winter  it  seems  the 
spirit  of  death  it  is  not  so,  but  the  root,  the  spirit 
of  birth  is  gaining  strength.  So  does  the  Book 
of  Changes  declare:  “ Birth  is  called  change,”  and 
again:  “ The  great  virtue  of  Heaven  and  Earth  is 
called  birth.”  That  which  in  Heaven  begets  all 
things  in  man  is  called  love.  So  doubt  not  that 
Heaven  loves  benevolence  and  hates  its  opposite. 

“ ‘ So,  too,  with  truth.  For  countless  ages  sun 
and  moon  and  stars  constantly  revolve  and  we 
make  calendars  without  mistake.  Nothing  is 
more  certain!  It  is  the  very  truth  of  the  universe! 
When  man  leaves  all  else  and  is  humane  and  true 
he  accords  with  Heaven,  it  surely  cherishes  and 
embraces  him.  But  with  mere  temporary  virtue 
comes  no  such  revelation.  We  must  always  obey, 
being  ever  benevolent  and  injuring  no  one,  being 
ever  true  and  deceiving  no  one.  As  the  days  and 
months  pass  such  truth  appeals  to  Heaven,  and 
Heaven  helps  so  that  even  in  battle  we  meet  no 
misfortune  nor  strike  against  bullet  or  spear. 
This  is  the  study  of  martial  fortune.  Do  not 
think  it  an  old  man’s  foolish  talk.’ 

“After  a little  some  one  said:  ‘ I am  much  im- 
pressed with  this  new  study  of  martial  fortune,  but 
still  have  my  doubts.  Do  not  humane  and  true 
men  meet  misfortune  while  the  wicked  prosper  ? 
Yen  Hui,  the  beloved  disciple  of  Confucius,  died 
young  and  poor  while  Che,  the  robber,  who  ate 


Confucianism 


95 


men,  was  long-lived  and  rich.  How  do  you  ex- 
plain such  facts  ? ’ The  teacher  replied: 

“ ‘The  good  are  happy  and  the  wicked  miser- 
able. This  is  the  certainly  determined  and  just 
law.  But  happiness  and  misery  are  not  thus  fore- 
ordained. They  depend  on  circumstances.  The 
Sages  speak  of  the  true  law  and  not  of  the  unde- 
termined circumstances.  If  we  would  live  long 
we  abstain  from  drink  and  lust  that  the  body  may 
be  strong.  If  in  service  we  seek  promotion  we 
are  diligent  in  duty.  But  some  men  who  are 
careful  of  their  health  die  young  and  some  careless 
men  live  long.  Yet  surely,  care  is  not  in  vain!  So, 
too,  some  diligent  men  through  misfortune  gain 
no  promotion  and  negligent  men  by  chance  have 
been  advanced.  ' Yet  surely,  diligence  is  not  in 
vain!  Were  we  to  think  care  of  the  body  useless 
we  should  spend  days  and  nights  in  drinking  and 
lust  until  at  last  we  should  be  diseased  and  die. 
And  were  we  to  think  diligence  in  vain  we  so  fre- 
quently should  neglect  our  duty  that  punishment 
and  degradation  would  be  ours.  Care  of  the  body 
is  the  “ way  ” of  long  life,  as  is  diligence  of  pro- 
motion. These  laws  are  unchangeable.  Again 
consider!  When  we  make  plans,  do  we  leave  all 
to  chance  or  determine  first  the  principles  of  our 
action  ? Of  course  the  latter,  and  then  we  do  not 
repent  even  though  we  are  unfortunate.  We  can- 
not arrange  for  chance.  But  to  leave  all  to  chance 
and  fail,  that  leads  to  repentance.  Sin  is  the 
source  of  pain  and  righteousness  of  happiness. 


96 


Japanese  Life 

This  is  the  settled  law.  The  teaching  of  the 
Sages  and  the  conduct  of  superior  men  is  de- 
termined by  principles  and  the  result  is  left  to 
Heaven.  Still,  we  do  not  obey  in  the  hope  of 
happiness,  nor  do  we  forbear  to  sin  from  fear. 
Not  with  this  meaning  did  Confucius  and  Mencius 
teach  that  happiness  is  in  virtue  and  pain  in  sin. 
But  the  “ Way  ” is  the  law  of  man.  It  is  said: 
“The  ‘Way’  of  Heaven  blesses  virtue  and 
curses  sin.”  That  is  intended  for  the  ignorant 
multitude.  Yet  it  is  not  like  the  Buddhist  para- 
bles, for  it  is  the  determined  truth. 

“ ‘ Yen  Hui  died  young,  Che  lived  long,  for 
Heaven’s  decree  was  not  yet  formed.  But  now 
as  we  study  the  decree:  Yen  Hui  indeed  lived 
poverty-stricken  and  in  obscurity,  but  his  name 
lasts  thousands  of  years  with  the  sun  and  moon. 
Che  had  a thousand  followers  and  walked  in 
pride,  but  when  he  died  his  name  perished  before 
his  body  was  cold  while  his  shame  lasts  an  hun- 
dred generations,  the  memorial  of  many  evil  deeds. 
Was,  then,  Yen  Hui’s reward  from  Heaven  small, 
and  Che’s  great?  ” And  there  is  a deeper  truth: 
the  wise  man  does  not  labour  for  himself  at  all. 
If  he  can  help  reveal  the  “ Way,”  though  never 
so  little,  even  when  dead  he  lives,  his  bones  do  not 
decay.  He  does  not  seek  himself  at  all. 

“ Matsunaga  thus  sings  of  the  morning-glory: 


“ * The  morning-glory  of  an  hour, 

Differs  not  in  heart  from  the  pine  of  a thousand  years.* 


Confucianism 


97 


What  profundity!  Many  have  sung  of  the  morn- 
ing-glory, of  its  short  life,  of  autumn  loneliness 
and  the  vanity  of  the  world. 

“ ‘After  a thousand  years  the  pine  decays; 

The  flower  has  its  glory  in  blooming  for  a day.’ 

That  is  pretty,  but  it  merely  makes  bloom  and 
decay  one.  The  ignorant  think  it  profound,  but 
it  is  very  superficial,  like  Buddhism  and  Taoism. 
Matsunaga’s  verse  has  other  meaning,  has  it  not? 
I think  it  means,  ‘ He  who  in  the  morning  hears 
the  “Way”  may  die  content  at  night.’  To 
blossom  early,  wait  for  the  rising  sun,  and  die, 
such  is  the  morning-glory’s  nature  received  from 
Heaven.  It  does  not  forget  its  own  nature  and 
envy  the  pine  its  thousand  years.  So  every  morn- 
ing splendidly  it  blooms,  waits  for  the  rising  sun, 
and  dies.  Thus  it  fulfils  its  destiny.  How  can 
we  despise  this  truth  the  flower  reveals?  The 
pine  differs  not,  but  we  learn  the  lesson  best  from 
the  short-lived  flower.  The  pine’s  heart  is  not  of 
a thousand  years  nor  the  morning-glory’s  of  an 
hour,  but  only  that  they  may  fulfil  their  destiny. 

“ The  glory  of  the  thousand  years,  the  evanes- 
cence of  the  single  hour,  are  not  in  pine  or  flower 
but  in  our  thought.  So  is  it  with  unfeeling  things, 
but  man  has  feeling  and  is  the  head  of  all.  Yet 
is  he  deceived  by  things  and  does  not  attain  to 
this  unless  he  knows  the  ‘ Way.’  To  know  the 
‘ Way  ’ is  not  the  mysterious  contemplation  of 
which  Buddhism  speaks.  The  ‘ Way  ’ is  so  ad- 

7 


98 


Japanese  Life 

justed  to  all  things  that  even  miserable  men  and 
women  may  know  and  do  it.  And  only  as  we 
truly  know  it  can  we  truly  do  it.  Otherwise  even 
with  practice  we  do  not  know,  and  even  in  doing 
it  we  find  no  profit.  Though  we  are  in  the 
‘ Way  ’ until  death  we  do  not  understand. 
Truly  to  know  and  act  is  to  be  like  fish  in  water 
and  bird  in  forest. 

“ Reason  should  be  our  life.  Never  should  we 
separate  from  it.  While  we  live  we  obey,  and 
‘ Way  ’ and  body  together  come  to  death.  Long 
shall  we  be  at  peace.  To  live  a day  is  to  obey  a 
day,  and  then  to  die;  to  live  a year  is  to  obey  a 
year  and  then  to  die.  If  thus  in  the  morning  we 
hear  and  die  at  night  there  is  no  regret.  So  the 
morning-glory  lives  a day,  blooms  wholly  as  it 
had  received,  and  without  resentment  dies.  How 
greatly  differ  the  thousand  years  of  the  pine  in 
length,  yet  both  fulfil  their  destiny  and  both  are 
equally  content.  Thus 

‘ ‘ ‘ The  morning-glory  of  an  hour, 

Differs  not  in  heart  from  the  pine  of  a thousand  years.’ 

As  Matsunaga  shows  his  aspirations  in  his  verse 
so  I in  imitation: 

‘“By  the  truth  received  from  Heaven  and  Earth, 

The  morning-glory  blooms  and  fades.’ 

“ ‘ Regret  not  what  you  see  : 

Decay  and  bloom  alike  are  morning-glory’s  truth.* 

“ ‘ Hurting  not,  lusting  not, 

This  is  the  morning-glory’s  heart, 

Not  different  from  the  pine’s.* 


Confucianism 


99 


The  verses  are  wretched  as  you  see.  But  never 
mind  their  form,  take  their  truth.” 

Man  is  never  alone.  There  are  streams  of  ten- 
dency which  make  for  righteousness  and  for  evil. 
They  respond  to  him,  and  as  his  heart  is  so  do 
gods  or  devils  commune  with  him.  Only  the  true 
in  heart  can  know  God. 

“ In  the  oldest  commentary  on  Confucius’s  his- 
tory it  is  said,  ‘ God  is  pure  intelligence  and  jus- 
tice.’ Now  all  know  that  God  is  just,  but  do  not 
know  that  he  is  intelligent.  But  there  is  no  such 
intelligence  elsewhere  as  God’s.  Man  hears  by 
the  ear,  and  where  the  ear  is  not  he  hears  not, 
though  never  so  quick  to  hear;  and  man  sees 
with  his  eyes,  and  where  they  are  not  he  sees  not, 
though  never  so  quick  to  see;  and  with  his  heart 
man  thinks,  and  the  swiftest  thought  takes  time. 
But  God  uses  neither  ear  nor  eye,  nor  does  he 
pass  over  in  thought.  Directly  he  feels,  and 
directly  does  he  respond.  This  then  we  should 
know  is  not  two  or  three  but  just  the  virtue  re- 
ceived from  the  one  truth.  Thus,  in  heaven  and 
earth  is  a being  of  quickest  eye  and  ear,  separated 
from  no  time  or  place,  now  in  this  manner, 
communicating  instantaneously,  embodied  in  all 
things,  filling  the  universe.  Having,  of  course, 
neither  form  nor  voice  it  is  not  seen  nor  heard  by 
men.  When  there  is  truth  it  feels,  and  when  it 
feels  it  responds.  When  there  is  no  truth  it  feels 
not,  and  when  it  feels  not  there  is  no  response. 
Responding  at  once  it  is ; not  responding  it 


IOO 


Japanese  Life 

naturally  is  not.  Is  not  this  the  Divinity  of 
heaven  and  earth  ? So  the  Doctrine  of  the  Mean 
says:  ‘ Eooked  for  it  cannot  be  seen,  listened  to  it 
cannot  be  heard.  It  enters  into  all  things!  There 
is  nothing  without  it.  ’ 

“ It  is  like  Priest  Saigyo’s  verse  at  the  Shrines 
in  Ise: 


“ ‘ Though  not  knowing  what  it  is, 

Grateful  tears  he  weeps.’ 

‘ ‘ Are  not  his  tears  from  his  perception  of  truth  ? 
Before  the  shrine  he  stands,  single-hearted,  direct, 
with  truth;  and  to  his  truth  God  also  comes  and 
they  commune,  and  so  it  is  he  weeps. 

“ As  the  reflection  in  the  clear  water  answers  to 
the  moon,  and  together  moon  and  pool  increase 
the  light,  so  if  continually  in  the  one  truth  they 
are  dissolved  we  cannot  distinguish  God  and  man, 
even  as  sky  and  water,  water  and  sky  unite  in 
one.  ‘ Everywhere,  everywhere,  on  the  right  He 
seems  and  on  the  left.’  This  is  the  revealing  of 
God,  the  truth  not  to  be  concealed.  Think  not 
God  is  distant,  but  seek  Him  in  the  heart,  for  the 
heart  is  the  House  of  God.  Where  there  is  no  ob- 
stacle of  lust,  of  one  spirit  with  the  God  of  heaven 
and  earth  there  is  this  communion.  But  except 
by  this  communion  there  is  not  such  a thing. 
Saigyo  did  not  weep  before  he  went  to  the  shrine 
and  by  this  we  know  God  came. 

“ And  now  for  the  application.  Examine  your- 
selves, make  the  truth  of  the  heart  the  founda- 


Confucianism 


IOI 


tion,  increase  in  learning,  and  at  last  you  will 
attain.  Then  you  will  know  the  truth  of  what  I 
speak. 

‘ ‘ As  thus  he  spoke  all  were  silent,  impressed 
by  the  great  thoughts  of  the  aged  philosopher. 
They,  too,  shed  grateful  tears  like  the  priest  be- 
fore the  shrine.  ” 

The  word  translated  “God”  is  without  indica- 
tion of  number,  and  our  translation  gives  too  mono- 
theistic an  impression . Perhaps  it  would  be  better 
to  substitute  “ divinities  ” or  “ divinity,”  for  there 
is  probably  no  implication  of  personality. 

Thus,  too,  can  we  explain  devils  and  things  of 
evil.  The  gods  are  the  good  powers  of  heaven 
and  earth  and  are  the  normal  working  of  the  spir- 
itual universe.  But  the  universe  knows  change, 
and  there  arise  unexpected  winds,  heat,  cold,  and 
storms.  So  are  there  naturally  evil  spirits  which 
respond  to  evil  men.  When  we  feel  with  pure 
spirit  the  pure  spirit  responds  to  us,  but  when  we 
feel  with  an  evil  spirit  the  devils  respond.  And 
there  is  no  place  in  heaven  or  earth  where  these 
spirits  good  and  evil  are  not.  But  when  our 
own  spirits  are  strong  the  evil  affects  us  not,  but 
when  we  are  weak  and  lustful  then  through  our 
undetermined  and  sinful  feelings  the  evil  spirits 
find  a way  and  affright  us;  with  portents,  dreams, 
and  lying  wonders,  they  lure  us  to  death.  But 
evil  melts  before  the  righteous  man  like  ice  before 
the  sun. 

For  the  philosopher  death  has  no  alarms,  and  the 


102 


Japanese  Life 

soul  content  with  life  and  submissive  to  destiny 
calmly  awaits  its  approach : 

“Swiftly  the  days  and  months  pass  by.  Day 
by  day  increases  the  disease,  old  age,  and  labour 
is  of  no  avail.  It  is  the  seventy-fifth  year,  and 
not  so  long  had  the  teacher  hoped  to  live  with 
the  billows  of  old  age  rolling  on.  He  was  para- 
lysed too,  so  that  hand  and  foot  were  not  easily 
moved,  and  with  difficulty  could  he  get  up  or 
down.  For  three  years  the  spring  beauty  of  the 
garden  had  not  been  seen,  but  the  voice  of  the 
bird  from  the  tree-top  came  to  his  bed  awakening 
him  from  his  lingering  dreams.  Patiently  did  he 
remember  the  past  as  the  perfume  of  the  plum 
blossoms  visited  his  pillow. 

“ How  blessed  was  he  then,  that  from  his  youth 
he  had  seen  through  the  windows  of  philosophy 
the  value  of  the  passing  years;  that  he  had  fol- 
lowed Shu- Hi  and  sought  the  manners  of  the 
Sages;  that  he  had  admired  true  literary  style 
and  had  learned  to  walk  haltingly  the  4 Way.’ 
What  consolation  was  this  for  his  aged  wakeful- 
ness! Through  so  many  months  and  years  well 
had  he  considered  the  passing,  changing  world, 
with  its  alternating  adversity  and  prosperity,  its 
bloom  and  decay.  Are  they  all  dreams  and 
visions,  ‘ the  clouds  that  float  above  the  earth  ’ ? 
Fortune  and  misfortune  are  twisted  together  like 
the  strands  of  a rope. 

“ Among  all  only  the  ‘ Way  ’ of  the  Sages 
stands  with  Heaven  and  Barth.  Past  and  present 


Confucianism 


103 


it  only  changes  not.  Men  should  wonder  at  it 
and  praise.  But  the  world  knows  it  not.  Men 
are  in  darkness  as  to  righteousness,  though  wise 
in  gain  and  lust.  The  ‘ Way  ’ is  forsaken  and 
customs  deteriorate.  Alas!  alas!  but  my  low 
rank  and  feeble  powers  could  not  reform  the  cus- 
toms or  restore  the  doctrine;  as  well  might  a gnat 
move  a tree  or  one  dip  out  the  ocean  with  a shell. 
Yet  is  it  our  duty  as  scholars  to  grieve  over  the 
world  and  reform  the  people.  We  cannot  give 
this  task  to  others.  Why  should  aged  teachers 
and  men  who  are  accounted  scholars  desire  false 
doctrines,  mix  them  with  the  truth,  and  thus 
transform  the  ‘ Way  ’ of  righteousness  and  virtue? 

“ I cannot  agree  to  that.  They  work  and  argue, 
please  the  vulgar,  and  go  with  the  times.  Deplor- 
able ! As  has  been  said  of  old,  — ‘ A corrupt 
learning  that  flatters  the  world.  ’ Tet  it  be  so ! 
L,et  customs  change!  I alone  will  follow  the 
‘ Way  ’ of  benevolence  and  righteousness  nor  lose 
the  pattern  I have  learned  ! This  is  the  sign  of 
the  scholar  who  honours  the  ‘ Way.’  In  the 
New  Year  when  men  bless  themselves  with  good 
wishes  for  a thousand  worlds,  I will  set  my  heart 
on  the  ‘ Way  ’ of  the  five  virtues  only  and  will 
change  not.  This  I think  the  rightful  cause  for 
congratulations.  So  I write: 

“ ‘This  spring  too  I go  unchanged, 

Five  times  more  than  seventy  seeking  the  ‘ Way.’ 

‘ ‘ This  year  I have  been  busy,  from  spring  to 


104 


Japanese  Life 

autumn,  collecting  and  writing  my  various  talks 
with  my  disciples.  I finished  it  in  the  autumn, 
and  though  it  is  as  worthless  as  the  refuse  left  by 
fishermen,  yet  if  transmitted  to  our  company  it 
may  be  one-ten-thousandth  help  to  those  who 
study  themselves.  So  at  the  end  I wrote  my 
New  Year’s  verse,  ending  yet  beginning,  and 
thus  reveal  an  endless  heart.” 


CHAPTER  VIII 

PHILOSOPHY  FOR  THF  PEOPLE 

HE  Confucian  literature  in  Japan  so  far  in- 


structed the  mass  of  the  people  as  to  provide 
summaries  of  moral  rules  for  them.  But  these 
moral  rules  could  exist  in  harmony  with  Bud- 
dhism. And  as  in  China  for  centuries  and  in 
Japan  for  a thousand  years  the  Chinese  ethics 
knew  no  quarrel  with  the  religion  of  the  Buddha, 
so  even  after  the  educated  men  in  Japan  had  given 
up  Buddhism  it  still  retained  its  full  power  over 
the  lower  classes  and  could  incorporate  the  Con- 
fucian ethics  with  itself. 

One  effort,  long  continued,  was  made  to  win 
the  people  not  merely  to  the  Confucian  ethics,  but 
to  the  foreign  philosophy.  Toward  the  close  of 
the  eighteenth  century  a school  of  popular  preach- 
ers expounded  the  rudiments  of  the  Chinese  sys- 
tem to  the  people.  They  made  such  concessions 
to  Buddhism  as  they  thought  the  case  demanded, 
but  sought  to  substitute  their  system  for  the  peo- 
ple’s faith.  They  continued  in  a succession  until 
the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  but  their 


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failure  was  complete.  They  made  no  lasting  im- 
pression upon  the  nation’s  mind.  The  Chinese 
philosophy  remained  the  exclusive  possession  of 
the  higher  classes. 

Volumes  of  sermons  by  the  preachers  of  this 
philosophy  may  be  bought  in  the  bookstalls  of 
Tokyo,  though  the  living  voice  has  long  since 
ceased.  The  following  discourse  is  from  a volume 
printed  in  1838  and  deals  with  the  fundamental 
truths  and  shows  how  the  philosophy  of  the 
schools  was  adapted  to  the  needs  of  common  life. 
Such  sermons  give  the  spirit  of  the  people’s  life 
better  than  more  formal  treatises. 

“ Text:  ‘ The  Master  says, — Is  it  not  a pleasure 
to  practise  what  we  learn  ? * 

“As  you  all  know,  this  text  is  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  first  book  of  the  Analects.  It  is  the 
teaching  of  the  great  Sage,  Confucius.  I am  un- 
learned and  cannot  expound  the  Analects,  but 
shall  talk  simply  to  these  ladies  and  children  about 
the  ‘ Way.’  ‘ The  Master  says,’  means,  Confucius 
says,  and  what  is  his  meaning  in  this  word, 

‘ learn  ’ ? What  are  we  to  learn  ? It  is  man’s 
‘ Way  ’ of  course,  the  ‘ Way  ’ that  belongs  to 
every  man,  even  to  the  Son  of  Heaven  and  the 
Shogun , with  all  reverence  be  it  said,  to  us  com- 
mon folk,  and  to  the  very  outcast  and  beggars. 
For  every  one  is  by  nature  endowed  with  five 
virtues,  humanity,  righteousness,  propriety,  sin- 
cerity, and  wisdom;  and  from  these  come  nat- 
urally our  duties  in  five  relations — obedience  to 


Philosophy  for  the  People  107 

parents,  loyalty  to  master,  conjugal  harmony, 
brotherly  affection,  and  kindness  to  strangers. 
The  text  refers  to  learning  these  things,  for  they 
constitute  man’s  ‘ Way.’ 

“ Nothing  is  without  its  ‘ Way  ’ and  each  thing 
follows  straight  its  path:  the  cock  crows  every 
morning  and  tells  the  hour;  the  dog  guards  the 
gate,  the  cat  catches  the  rat,  the  horse  and  ox  bear 
burdens  for  man — all  do  their  duty.  Was  ever 
horse  or  ox  ashamed  to  meet  its  companion,  or  do 
they  run  away  to  hide,  or  are  cat  or  dog  sentenced 
to  death  by  their  peers  ? Why,  consider  even  in- 
animate things  ! The  willow  is  always  green,  the 
flower  coloured,  the  pine  crooked,  the  cedar 
straight,  the  radish  long,  and  the  turnip  short, 
never  a mistake  or  change  at  all ! 

“ Alas ! alas  ! Only  that  sad  thing,  man  ! He 
is  born  the  ‘ Head  of  all  things,’  but  as  he  does 
not  know  what  constitutes  him  ‘ Head,’  there  are 
many  men  who  are  not  true  men.  As  the  comic 
poet  says: 

“ ‘ Should  ye  become  beasts  it  would  not  soil  your  face, 
O guild  of  nature’s  lords.’ 

For  man  is  endowed  with  the  splendid  power  of 
choice  and  so  he  leaves  his  ‘ Way,’  and  wanders 
in  forbidden  paths.  How  dangerous!  with  all 
our  strength  we  must  learn  man’s  ‘ Way.’  You 
know  the  ancient  verse: 

“ ‘ Many  men.  Amid  the  men  no  man. 

Man,  be  a man ! Man,  make  men  ! * 


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Japanese  Life 

This  endowment  with  the  five  virtues  and  duties 
is  like  the  arrangement  of  five  fingers  on  the 
hand.  Took  at  your  fingers  and  see:  The  index 
finger  is  for  benevolence  and  filial  obedience,  the 
third  finger  for  righteousness  and  loyalty,  the 
middle  finger  for  propriety  and  conjugal  harmony, 
the  little  finger  for  wisdom  and  brotherly  affec- 
tion, the  thumb  foi  sincerity  and  fidelity  to  com- 
panions. With  the  five  you  can  grasp  what  you 
will.  How  wonderful!  ‘Flowers,  bright-coloured 
leaves,  gold  and  silver  in  the  world  are  given, — 
put  forth  your  strength  and  take/  How  im- 
portant that  we  put  forth  our  strength!  Mencius 
says,  ‘ If  self-examination  shows  truth,  then  all 
the  world  endows  me.  No  pleasure  excels  this/ 
All  the  world  is  mine,  a precious  treasure,  but  if  I 
am  a little  selfish,  if  I seek  my  own  happiness,  I 
break  the  fingers  off.  Disobedience  breaks  the 
first,  disloyalty  the  third,  conjugal  discord  the 
second,  strife  with  brothers  the  fourth,  falseness 
toward  others  the  thumb,  and  my  hand  is  useless. 
There  ! It  is  a club  ! it  cannot  take  or  hold  a 
thing.  My  young  hearers,  are  your  fingers 
broken  off? 

“In  prayer  we  join  the  fingers  of  both  hands,  re- 
presenting the  active  and  passive  principles,  or  in 
Shinto  the  primeval  oneness  of  heaven  and  earth, 
of  harmony  between  self  and  others.  But  if  only 
the  hands  are  joined  what  answer  can  we  expect 
from  gods  or  Buddhas  ? Feelings  and  actions,  too, 
must  be  in  harmony,  for  if  they  are  pushed  out 


Philosophy  for  the  People  109 

like  clubs  to  the  deities,  though  we  repeat  prayers 
as  enchanters  repeat  their  charms,  the  god  looks 
the  other  way. 

“ ‘ No  answer  to  thy  prayer? 

Silence  an  answer  is. 

Thy  praying  heart  lacks  truth.’ 

Here  is  a story  in  point. 

“An  old  woman  who  very  much  wished  to  go  to 
heaven  once  lived  among  the  farmers.  Every  day 
she  made  an  offering  to  her  Buddha  and  called  the 
rice  ‘ sacred,’  and  all  things  used  in  its  prepara- 
tion she  esteemed  the  property  of  Buddha  and  used 
them  for  nothing  else  — ‘sacred  pot,’  ‘sacred 
ladle,’  ‘ sacred  cloth.’  So,  too,  all  the  family 
used  the  same  adjective  when  they  mentioned 
anything  belonging  to  the  Buddha,  ‘ sacred 
flowers,’  ‘sacred  censer,’  even  ‘sacred  dish- 
cloth.’ The  reason  for  it  all  was  the  old  woman’s 
desire  to  go  to  paradise  after  death,  there  to  feast 
upon  an  hundred  kinds  of  fruit  and  never  to 
labour  more.  She  was  wholly  selfish.  Yet  the 
founder  of  her  sect  was  not  wholly  to  blame,  as  he 
had  hoped  to  wheedle  men  into  just  living  now. 
But  the  old  woman  never  thought  of  that  and  in- 
terpreted the  Buddhist  saying,  ‘ The  world  is  a 
transient,  borrowed  lodging,’  to  mean  that  she 
might  please  herself,  even  by  disobedience,  dis- 
loyalty, and  injustice.  Was  she  not  a fool?  ‘A 
borrowed  world  ! Yet  use  it  not  in  vain  ! This 
borrowed  world  only  is  thine.’  The  seed  of 


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Japanese  Life 

heaven  and  hell  is  all  sown  in  this  life  and  so  this 
‘ borrowed  ’ world  is  of  the  last  importance  to  us 
all.  But  this  woman  in  her  selfishness  thinks  it 
is  transient ! I can  please  myself ! So  in  her 
accounts  are  many  things  that  do  not  agree.  She 
will  not  pay  her  taxes  until  compelled,  but  would 
pay  her  temple  dues  with  her  skin!  She  can’t 
fast  on  the  anniversary  of  her  parents’  death,  ‘for 
her  health’s  sake,’  but  is  not  hurt  by  fasting  on 
the  ‘ sacred  ’ day  when  the  founder  of  her  re- 
ligion died.  And  so  with  all  the  family — they 
scold  each  other  with  loud,  shrill  voices,  and 
almost  the  same  instant  turn  to  their  Buddha  and 
pray  with  the  gentlest  tones!  How  selfishness 
seems  to  make  a fool  of  Buddha!  He  only  grieves 
as  such  a club  is  thrust  out  before  him.  He  never 
supposed  that  a desire  for  heaven  would  lead  to 
such  misconduct  nor  that  prayer  should  become 
pretext  for  sin.  Such  conduct  causes  tears  of 
blood  to  fall.  Are  not  such  folk  wholly  astray  ? 

“This  old  woman  never  washed  the  rice  for 
Buddha  with  her  hands,  but  used  two  clubs,  and 
a man,  asking  her,  ‘ Why  do  you  wash  the  rice  in 
such  inconvenient  fashion  ? ’ was  told,  ‘ Because 
it  is  for  the  Buddha,  and  my  hands  are  not  clean 
enough.  Some  particle  of  dirt  remains,  whatever 
care  I take.’  So  he  asked  again,  ‘ How  do  you 
pray?’  ‘Why,  with  clasped  hands,  of  course.’ 

‘ That,  too,  is  wrong,’  he  said;  ‘ you  should  use 
two  clubs!’  ‘You  wretch!  what  blasphemy!* 
she  cried.  But  the  real  blasphemy  is  praj^er  with 


CROSSING  THE  MOUNTAINS 


1 1 1 


Philosophy  for  the  People 

the  fingers  joined  while  thoughts  and  actions  are 
like  the  clubs. 

“ Of  old,  Buddha  and  the  inventors  of  religions 
pitied  men  and  tried  to  coax  them  to  virtue,  just 
as  the  seller  of  sweets  blows  a flute  and  sings  a 
song  and  the  peddler  spins  a top — all  for  the  sake 
of  selling  their  wares. 

“ Swallowing  the  device  of  the  priest, 

Well  satisfied  they  dance  their  prayers.’ 

“When  we  pray  for  cleansing  and  holiness,  as  in 
Shinto,  we  desire  to  be  rid  of  self-seeking  and 
wilfulness.  We  do  not  offer  anything  to  the  gods. 
And  when  we  pray,  ‘ Save,  eternal  Buddha!  ’ we 
do  not  aid  him,  for,  pure  and  holy,  he  does  not  need 
our  help,  but  we  desire  to  be  changed  into  his  like- 
ness. Otherwise  our  form  of  prayer  is  like  using 
the  clubs,  and  man  must  learn  this  ‘ Way  ’ by 
the  teaching  of  the  Sages,  and  so  Confucius  says, 
Team.’ 

“The  word  ‘practice’  means  imitate.  When 
we  hear  the  precious  words  of  the  Sages  we  take 
them  as  our  model.  Or,  if  that  is  too  hard  for  us 
stupid  folk,  we  can  find  models  near  at  hand  and 
imitate  the  obedient  and  loyal  men  we  see.  As 
Confucius  said,  ‘ If  I see  a wise  man  I desire  to 
be  like  him;  if  a foolish  man  I examine  myself.’ 
And  again,  ‘ In  the  actions  of  every  three  men 
there  is  a teacher  for  me.  Seeing  the  right  I fol- 
low it,  and  seeing  the  evil  I mend  it.’  So,  seeing 
the  conduct  of  other  men,  I mend  my  own. 


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Japanese  Life 


“But  some  of  you  thoughtlessly  hear  this  word 
‘ imitate,’  and  the  boy  thinks  of  imitating  the 
jester,  and  the  woman  of  imitating  the  harlot  or 
dancer,  and  the  clerk  of  imitating  the  actor’s  hair, 
and  so  evil  comes  of  it.  Then,  too,  the  true  mid- 
dle way  is  hard  to  copy.  To  save  from  such  error 
I teach  this  ‘Way.’  Pray  consider  it! 

“All  the  time  a clear-sighted,  honoured  teacher 
is  close  at  hand.  Do  not  go  peering  about  for 
it.  It  is  called  the  ‘ true  self,’  has  not  eyes 
nor  ears  nor  mouth,  and  nothing  hinders  it.  It 
has  been  much  praised  in  India  and  China  from 
the  earliest  time.  To  it  we  will  go  at  once  and 
I will  lead  you  by  the  hand. 

“ If  we  listen,  as  to  gossip,  carelessly,  w’e  shall 
not  understand,  for  we  learn  this  lesson  by  testing 
it,  as  we  learn  the  taste  of  water  by  tasting.  What 
is  the  ‘ Way  ’ of  the  sparrow  ? Chu-chu.  Of  the 
crow  ? Ka-ka.  Of  the  willow  ? Greenness. 
Of  the  flower?  Colour.  Of  man?  Obedience, 
loyalty,  sincerity — as  any  one  can  say  who  has  the 
cant  words  by  heart.  But  it  is  a great  mistake  to 
suppose  this  is  the  sort  of  thing  that  is  to  be  heard 
merely  by  the  ears.  To  repeat  the  correct  words 
as  volubly  as  the  old-clothes  man  talks  and  yet 
not  to  know  the  ‘ Way  ’ is  to  be  like  the  club,  so 
Taotze  said,  ‘ Destroying  great  religions,  love  and 
righteousness  spring  up.’ 

‘ ‘ To  speak  correctly,  Ka-ka  is  the  crow,  green- 
ness the  willow,  colour  the  flower,  and  the  virtues 
man.  As  Mencius  says:  ‘ Man  does  all  things 


Philosophy  for  the  People  113 

by  benevolence  and  righteousness : he  does  not  do 
benevolence  and  righteousness.’  ‘Before  heaven 
and  earth  were  formed  the  chick  sang  in  its  shell.’ 
This  great  teacher  had  no  beginning  but  was  be- 
fore heaven  and  earth.  It  is  with  us  the  livelong 
day  and  says,  ‘ Do  this:  ’ ‘ Do  that:  ’ ‘ That  is 
wrong:  ’ ‘ Do  not  do  it!  * With  all  our  strength 
we  must  imitate  it,  it  is  the  living  teacher.  I be- 
seech you,  follow  it. 

“ We  master  nothing  by  copying  it  once  or 
twice,  we  must  grow  like  it.  The  very  children 
write  over  and  over  again  until  at  last  they  write 
just  like  the  copy.  So  with  man’s  ‘ Way’ : as  we 
copy  the  great  teacher,  the  ‘true  self,’  at  last  our 
acts  become  like  our  model  and  this  is  the  mean- 
ing of  the  text.  Just  as  in  music,  we  wish  to 
sound  chin  tsun  ten  but  it  comes  out  chin  chin 
ten , but,  as  we  persevere,  at  last  we  can  play  what 
we  will  and  gain  a skill  that  makes  us  forget  our 
food  in  joy.  Still  more  when  I follow  the  ‘ Way  ’ 
of  man,  the  essential  element  of  manhood,  do  I 
attain  the  highest  happiness.  So  our  text  says, 
‘Is  it  not  a pleasure  to  practice  what  we  learn  ? ’ 

“ But  this  saying  of  the  Sage  is  beyond  us  com- 
mon folks,  and  yet  if  we  enter  this  gate  and  learn 
only  the  outer  edge  of  the  true  self,  that  which 
has  seemed  apart  from  us — Shinto,  Buddha,  and 
the  Sage — we  learn  at  once  is  all  our  own.  They 
are  not  wholly  apart  from  us.  So  we  lose  our  sel- 
fishness and  grow  ashamed  of  our  old  thoughts 
and  feelings.  We  had  thought  ourselves  wise  and 


i H Japanese  Life 

prudent  and  now  the  horns  of  the  selfish  demon 
draw  slowly  in,  and  the  skin,  a thousand  thick, 
thins  down  to  one.  And  in  like  degree  we  enter 
heaven  with  joy  and  thankfulness  unspeakable, 
unconscious  how  our  hands  move  and  our  feet 
dance.  As  the  poet  sings, 

‘“So  long  as  Buddha  lives 
Whate’er  I see  or  hear 
Is  source  of  thankfulness.’ 

“ Now  for  a little  stop,  stretching  out  your 
elbows  proudly,  and  study  the  shell  of  this  body. 
What  a wonderful  being  it  is!  On  the  head  we 
wear  nothing,  and  just  there  is  the  cushion  of  hair 
that  protects  us  against  injury  should  anything 
fall  upon  it.  And  the  eye  is  a wonder!  It  takes  in 
light  for  the  whole  body  and  is  withdrawn  a little 
and  protected  from  dust  by  the  eyelid  which  opens 
and  shuts  itself;  and  if  dust  gets  in,  the  eyelash 
sweeps  it  out.  The  eyebrows,  like  the  eaves  of  a 
warehouse,  carry  away  the  perspiration.  The  nose 
cannot  shut,  so  it  opens  downwards  that  no  wind 
may  enter,  and  the  roof  above  protects  it.  Were 
it  not  for  that  we  should  have  to  walk  backwards 
when  the  wind  blows  hard,  and  might  fall  into  a 
puddle  or  strike  against  a cart  or  stone.  So  it  is 
by  the  grace  of  this  roof,  which  in  a lifetime  needs 
no  repairs,  that  we  walk  at  ease. 

‘ ‘ The  mouth  takes  in  our  food.  How  wisely  it 
is  made,  expanding,  contracting,  to  admit  just  the 
load  ! And  inside  are  the  teeth,  those  officials 


Philosophy  for  the  People  115 

who  roughly  handle  the  various  things  and  with 
the  tongue  let  nothing  hard,  or  hurtful  escape. 
And  in  old  age  out  come  the  teeth,  lest  food  too 
strong  for  the  stomach  should  be  taken. 

“ The  ears  spread  like  a wine-seller’s  funnel  to 
receive  the  five  sounds,  and  at  the  joints  of  our 
limbs  the  skin  is  a little  loose,  and  toes  and  fingers 
are  protected  at  the  ends  by  nails,  like  bits  of  hard- 
ware. You  must  ask  the  doctor  to  tell  you  of  the 
clock-like  mechanism  of  the  body,  of  its  five  and 
six  viscera.  All  is  formed  by  Heaven  from  the 
five  elements.  Could  there  be  a more  skilful 
workman  ? We  sleep,  we  wake,  we  walk,  we 
speak,  we  think  at  will.  We  can  never  under- 
stand the  marvel,  study  as  we  may. 

“ See  how  we  go  astray.  We  think,  This  body 
is  mine;  I can  do  as  I please;  and  so  we  come  to 
think,  I am  wise  and  smart.  ‘ If  he  goes  there 
I move  here:  if  he  comes  here  I go  there’ : from 
morning  to  night  the  elbows  are  pushed  out  like 
a chess-player’s,  we  scowl  as  we  consider  what  we 
shall  do,  and  the  will  is  like  a wrestler’s.  How 
guilt}7!  How  pitiable!  Heaven  is  too  kind  and 
gives  us  our  tenement  free  of  rent,  and  we  presume 
on  the  kindness  and  think  it  our  own.  At  last  we 
dun  the  owner!  No  possible  happiness  can  come 
from  that.  I ’ll  illustrate  by  a story: 

“In  a certain  place  was  a servant  named  Cho- 
kichi,  a most  wonderful  fool.  There  were  many 
fools,  but  this  one  was  extraordinary,  with  a re- 
markable talent  for  forgetting.  One  day  his  mis- 


ii6  Japanese  Life 

tress  said  to  him,  ‘ Here,  Chokichi;  to-day  is  an 
anniversary  and  the  priest  will  soon  come  and 
we  must  have  an  offering  for  the  household  deities. 
Hurry  to  Nihom-bashi  and  buy  five  things, — car- 
rot, dock,  mountain  potato,  dried  mushroom,  and 
lotus  root.’  She  gave  him  five  cents  and  he  an- 
swered ‘Yes,’  tucked  up  his  skirt,  and  started 
fast  as  he  could  run. 

‘‘Soon  he  meets  neighbour  Kichimatsu,  who 
asks,  ‘ Where  do  you  go  so  fast  ? ’ ‘ To  Nihom 

bashi  to  buy  some  things.’  ‘ What  shall  you 
buy?’  ‘Why,  I don’t  know.’  His  mistress’s 
commission  was  forgotten  and  he  remembered 
only  to  run.  Was  he  not  a fool  ? 

“ But  possibly  we  should  not  laugh  too  loudly 
at  him.  Of  course  not  in  this  congregation,  but 
back  in  the  country  are  many  men  not  unlike 
Chokichi,  men  who  forget  the  most  pressing 
duties.  They  know  very  well  what  others  should 
do, — well,  let  each  examine  self. 

‘J  Here  is  Mr.  Hachibei,  who  says  that  every  be- 
ing is  born  with  a special  commission  from  Heaven. 
‘Indeed!  What  were  horse  and  ox  born  for?’ 
‘ Oh,  I know  that!  To  help  man  by  bearing  bur- 
dens. ’ ‘ And  what  was  the  cock  born  for  ? ’ 

‘To  tell  the  dawn.’  ‘And  the  dog?’  ‘To 
guard  the  gate.  ’ ‘ And  the  cat  ? ’ ‘ To  catch 

the  rat.’  Whatever  I ask,  if  it  is  only  something 
yonder,  he  knows  it  well.  Now,  Mr.  Hachibei, 
what  were  you  born  for  ? He  scratches  his  head, 
‘ Why  was  I born  ? I do  not  know.  To  eat  rice 


Philosophy  for  the  People  1 1 7 

and  grumble.’  That  is  the  sort  of  reply  he 
makes.  Truly  he  is  of  Chokichi’s  guild.  It  can- 
not be  that  man  only  came  into  the  world  to  grow 
old  eating  rice  ! He  differs  from  cat  and  dog  and 
is  the  ‘ head  of  all  things,’  but  that  does  not 
mean  that  he  is  aimless. 

“When  Chokichi  reached  Nihom-bashi  he  wan- 
dered aimlessly  about,  his  money  in  hand.  He 
saw  cookies  in  a baker’s  and  went  in  and  ate 
some — ten.  Then  he  drank  small  beer  and  spent 
what  he  had  left  in  a low  eating-house.  But  still 
he  was  not  satisfied,  and  went  home  grumbling 
because  he  could  not  buy  cooked  eel  and  duck. 

“ Meanwhile  master  and  mistress  were  hot  as 
fire.  ‘ Chokichi,  what  are  you  about,  where  are 
the  things  we  sent  you  for  ? ’ Chokichi,  surprised, 
replied,  ‘ What  things?  I have  not  bought  any- 
thing.’ The  master  angrily:  ‘ What  did  you  do 
with  the  money  ? ’ ‘ Oh,  I used  that  to  buy 

things  to  eat  and  I want  some  more.’’  Mistress 
and  master  amazed,  ‘ You  are  talking  in  your 
sleep!  We  did  not  tell  you  to  buy  things  to  eat, 
but  to  get  carrot  and  dock — the  five  things  for  the 
ceremony.  You  spent  the  money  for  things  to 
eat?  You  are  crazy.’  They  scold  and  pound 
the  mats.  No  doubt  of  his  being  a fool.  He 
looks  up  surprised,  and  says,  ‘ Do  you  want  car- 
rot and  dock  ? I have  just  been  to  Nihom-bashi, 
and  it  would  have  been  such  a good  time  to  have 
bought  them ! ’ A monstrous  fool ! In  the  wide 
world  none  would  support  him  for  an  hour.  Hit 


1 18 


Japanese  Life 

him  with  the  fist  and  drive  him  out!  There  is  no 
help  for  it. 

“But  this  is  not  merely  an  amusing  story,  it  is  a 
parable.  If  we  hear  of  folly  we  examine  self.  So 
if  any  thinks,  ‘ I am  not  like  Chokichi,’  let  him 
examine  self. 

“At  birth  we  receive  from  Heaven  not  five  cents 
with  which  to  buy  things,  but  a body  with  five 
members  and  five  senses  and  a heart  endowed 
with  five  virtues.  And  we  are  to  fulfil  the  five 
duties,  this  is  our  commission,  the  things  we  are 
to  buy.  But  we  forget  virtues  and  duties,  and, 
rising  up  and  lying  down,  complain:  ‘ I want  this! 
I want  that ! This  won’  t do ! That  ’ s not  enough ! 
and  use  our  mouths  and  ears  buying  and  eating 
— Chokichi  himself ! Surely,  man  was  not  born 
so  aimlessly.  And  even  in  these  times  of  peace, 
when  with  diligence  one  need  not  want  anything, 
men  do  not  imagine  even  in  their  dreams  that 
gratitude  is  due.  ‘ That  ’s  not  enough!  This 
won’t  do!  ’ It  is  blasphemy. 

“When  the  ‘true  self’  disappears  the  selfish 
demon  rules.  The  family  is  in  factions,  father 
and  son,  husband  and  wife  are  enemies.  They 
glare  at  each  other  and  ill-treat  each  other.  The 
lord,  too,  abuses  his  servants  and  they  watch  his 
errors.  It  is  a living  hell!  And  when  a pause 
comes  they  study  questions  of  no  profit:  ‘ Are 
the  times  good  or  bad ? ’ ‘Is  the  world  wide 
or  narrow?’  ‘Is  it  the  world’s  beginning  or 
end?’  It  is  the  merest  folly!  So  grumbled 


Philosophy  for  the  People  119 

Chokichi,  because  bis  mistress’s  money  was  too 
little  and  he  could  not  have  eel  and  duck.  Such 
grumblers  dun  Heaven  for  rent,  and  in  return  are 
ordered  to  quit  the  premises.  They  run  off  bank- 
rupt, men  and  women  drowning  themselves  to- 
gether or  having  their  heads  cut  off.  So  they  get 
a blow  or  two  from  Heaven’s  fist  and  are  turned 
out  of  heaven,  the  wretches! 

“It  is  written,  ‘All  things  are  cultivated  in  a 
series,  therefore  they  must  not  hurt  each  other.’ 
We  know  the  true  self  and  wish  to  forsake  our 
selfish  buying  and  eating  and  to  follow  the  true 
‘ Way.’  We  desire  to  do  the  pressing  commis- 
sion of  Heaven  and  to  be  obedient,  loyal,  and  kind. 
Thus  shall  we  live  in  joy. 

“But  some  of  my  young  hearers  think,  ‘ That  is 
old-fashioned  and  not  for  these  times  * ; and 
others  say,  ‘ No.  It  is  true  and  I mean  to  fol- 

low the  “ Way.”  But  just  now  I am  too  busy 
“and  really  have  not  time.’  All  these  belong  to 
Chokichi’ s guild  and  soon  Heaven’s  fist  will  be  on 
their  heads  and  then  what  sorrow  and  woes  will 
they  know — a fearful  doom ! Team  over  and  over 
again  this  ‘ Way.’ 

“ In  ancient  times  Buddha,  Confucius,  and  the 
founders  of  the  sects  forsook  home  and  rank  and 
denied  themselves  pleasant  food  and  clothes,  and 
with  wasting  flesh  helped  others.  We,  too,  desire 
to  make  it  the  business  of  life  to  live  and  die  true 
men.  That  is  our  prayer  to  Heaven,  to  the  gods 
and  Buddha,  the  true  prayer  for  the  bountiful 


120 


Japanese  Life 

harvest  of  the  five  kinds  of  grain  and  for  peace  in 
earth  and  heaven. 

“My  sermon  has  been  so  long,  from  the  begin- 
ning to  end,  that  now  we  ’ll  stop  and  take  a 

pipe.” 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  WAY  OF  THE  “ SAMURAI  ” 

THE  Confucian  philosophy  in  China  is  the 
guide  of  statesmen  whose  ideal  is  peace:  in 
Japan  it  became  the  creed  of  soldiers — the  same 
precepts  bearing  different  meanings  as  the  way 
of  the  Sages  became  the  way  of  the  samurai. 
The  philosophers  we  have  quoted  are  not  the 
advocates  of  learned  leisure  or  of  philosophic  re- 
tirement, but  their  lectures  are  filled  with  admira- 
tion for  the  “strenuous  life.’  ’ Devotion  unto  death 
is  the  chief  of  virtues  for  them — and  only  as  we 
understand  their  ideals  can  we  know  the  life  of 
the  people.  Confucianism  gave  these  scholars 
a completed  system  which  made  righteousness 
ultimate  and  supreme;  their  instincts  interpreted 
and  the  history  of  the  past  illustrated  the  teaching 
— as  Buddhism  had  incorporated  the  ancient  gods 
in  its  own  beliefs,  so  did  the  Chinese  philosophy 
in  Japan  adopt  as  its  own  the  heroes  of  the  feudal 
wars.  In  both  instances  the  native  element  trans- 
formed the  foreign  system. 

An  effeminate  Court,  intriguing  nobles,  de- 


121 


122  Japanese  Life 

bauched  emperors,  and  ambitious  soldiers  sup- 
plied material  for  the  tragedy  of  the  Dark  Ages. 
Fighting  was  the  business  of  life  and  the  strong- 
est ruled.  Confusion  threatened  the  nation,  but 
protected  by  the  sea  against  all  foreign  foes  it 
survived  its  perils. 

In  the  uninteresting  story  of  the  feudal  strife 
the  Spirit  of  Old  Japan  stood  revealed  more  clearly 
than  in  the  indolent  ages  of  effeminate  peace. 
When  the  strongest  and  most  ambitious  rule,  hero 
worship  becomes  the  nation’s  cult,  and  such  was 
the  real  faith  of  the  Japanese.  It  fitted  well  his 
nature  and  inherited  beliefs.  The  marvellous  in 
man  is  the  chief  of  nature’s  wonders;  and  desperate 
enterprise,  the  courage  that  bears  the  forlorn  hope 
to  victory,  the  strength  that  triumphs  in  the  teeth 
of  fate  itself,  the  fire  that  flashes  from  the  eyes  of 
the  leader  and  compels  multitudes  to  give  up  life, 
not  knowing  why  they  die, — these  are  the  quali- 
ties to  be  worshipped  and  deemed  worthy  of  every 
sacrifice.  The  sword  was  the  symbol  of  this 
Spirit  of  Old  Japan,  the  weapon  of  offensive  war- 
fare and  of  self-destruction  when  all  was  lost,  and 
against  others  or  against  self,  the  emblem  of 
whole-hearted  loyalty. 

Nothing  of  pity  stopped  the  warrior  and  no 
thought  of  self.  Thus  he  was  taught:  “ Be  not  a 
samurai  through  the  wearing  of  two  swords,  but, 
day  and  night,  see  that  you  bring  no  reproach 
on  the  name.  Ever  cross  your  threshold  and 
pass  through  your  gate  as  men  who  never  shall 


The  Way  of  the  “Samurai”  123 

return  again.  Thus  shall  you  be  ready  for  every 
adventure  you  may  meet.” 

Royalty  unto  death  was  the  treasure  of  great 
price;  it  summed  up  the  law  of  righteousness, 
“ To  the  samurai  righteousness  is  first  of  all,  then 
life,  then  silver  and  gold.  These  last  are  of  value, 
but  some  put  them  in  place  of  righteousness.  To 
the  sarnurai  life  itself  is  as  dirt  compared  with 
righteousness!  ” 

Righteousness  was  exemplified  by  men  innum- 
erable, and  the  writers  on  ethics  praise  the  heroes 
of  the  faith,  interpreting  their  deeds  in  accordance 
with  the  accepted  philosophy.  The  following  in- 
stances are  from  the  writings  of  Kyuso  Muro,  one 
of  the  standard  authorities. 

“In  the  period  Genko-Kemmu^i^i-i^^)  many 
samurai  were  faithful  unto  death.  I admire  with 
tears  a retainer  of  Ho-jo  Takatoku  named  Ando- 
zaimon  Shoshu,  the  uncle  of  Nitta,  Yoshisada’s 
wife.  When  Kamakura  was  taken  by  Nitta,  his 
wife  secretly  sent  a letter  to  her  uncle,  who  was 
in  arms  against  her  husband.  His  soldiers  were 
killed,  himself  was  wounded,  and  he  was  retreat- 
ing when  news  came  that  Takatoku  had  burned 
his  castle  and  fled  to  Toshoji.  Andozaimon 
asked  if  many  had  killed  themselves  at  the  burning 
of  the  castle  and  was  told,  ‘ Not  one.’  4 Shame- 
ful! ’ he  replied;  ‘there  we  will  die.’  So  with 
an  hundred  men  he  went  on  to  the  castle  and  wept 
as  he  beheld  the  smoking  ruins.  Just  then  came 
the  letter  from  his  niece.  He  opened  it  and  read, 


124 


Japanese  Life 

— ‘ Since  Kamakura  is  destroyed  come  to  me. 
I ’ll  obtain  your  pardon  with  my  life.’  Very 
angrily  he  spoke,  ‘ I have  been  favoured  by  my 
lord,  as  all  know.  Shall  I be  so  shameless  as  to 
follow  Yoshisada  now!  His  wife  wants  to  help 
her  uncle;  but  if  Yoshisada  knows  the  duty  of  a 
samurai  he  will  put  a stop  to  such  attempts.  He 
did  not  send  it  or  agree  to  it.  But  if  he  did,  if  he 
meant  to  test  me,  she  should  not  have  permitted 
such  an  attempt  to  destroy  my  name.  He  and 
his  wife  alike  are  worthy  of  contempt!  ’ With 
grief  and  anger  there  before  the  messenger,  he 
wrapped  the  letter  around  his  sword  and  slew 
himself. 

“Ah,  what  a man  was  that!  How  pure  his 
purpose!  Who  can  excel  him  ? 

“ But  in  recent  years,  in  the  period  Tensho  (a.d. 
I573_I59°)  a retainer  of  Takeda  Katsuyori  named 
Komiyama  Naizen  is  most  to  be  admired.  He 
was  the  favourite  of  his  master,  until  at  last  they 
were  separated  by  a quarrel,  and  Naizen,  con- 
demned through  false  witnesses,  was  dismissed 
from  office.  When  the  troops  of  Oda  Nobunaga 
attacked  the  province  of  Kai,  Katsuyori  wras  de- 
feated and  fled  with  forty-two  followers  to  Ten- 
mokuzan.  When  Naizen  heard  of  the  disaster  he 
wished  to  help  and  met  Katsuyori  on  his  retreat. 
All  the  false  witnesses,  all  with  whom  Naizen  had 
quarrelled,  had  fled,  deserting  their  lord.  Sorrow- 
fully spoke  Naizen:  ‘ My  lord  dismissed  me  and 
now,  should  I die  for  my  country  it  will  be  a 


The  Way  of  the  “Samurai”  125 

reflection  on  his  judgment;  but  if  I do  not  die  I 
shall  injure  the  fidelity  of  the  samurai . Though 
I hurt  his  fame  I must  not  forsake  virtue,’  and 
he  died  with  the  forty-two  faithful  ones.  As  all 
the  others  had  fled  and  these  forty-two  samurai 
alone  held  faithful  to  their  lord  without  a thought 
of  disobedience,  they  all  illustrate  samurai  fidelity. 
But  Naizen  was  pre-eminent  among  them,  for  he 
had  been  unj  ustly  condemned  and  came  expressly 
that  he  might  die. 

“ When  Katsuyori  and  all  his  party  had  been 
destroyed,  Ieyasu  much  admired  the  fidelity  of 
Naizen  and  regretted  that  his  worship  should 
cease,  as  he  had  no  children.  So  Ieyasu  em- 
ployed Naizen’ s younger  brother,  and  before  the 
battle  at  Odawara  gave  him  a high  command, 
speaking  at  length  of  Naizen’ s fidelity:  ‘ Naizen 
was  a model  samurai , and  though  his  brother 
is  so  young  I have  given  him  this  command  in 
token  of  my  admiration  of  such  loyalty.’  Truly 
that  was  praise  after  death,  and  the  reward  of 
loyalty.” 

Women,  too,  may  show  true  righteousness: 

“ When  in  Kaga  I heard  a man  remark:  ‘All 
sins,  great  and  small,  may  be  forgiven  on  repent- 
ance and  no  scars  remain,  except  two;  the  flight 
of  a samurai  from  the  post  where  he  should  die, 
and  theft.  These  leave  a lifelong  wound  which 
never  heals.  All  born  as  samurai , men  and 
women,  are  taught  from  childhood  that  fidelity 
must  never  be  forgotten.’  Thereupon  I con- 


126 


Japanese  Life 

tinued : ‘ Of  course,  and  woman  is  ever  taught 
that  submission  is  her  chief  duty,  and  if  in  unex- 
pected strait  her  weak  heart  forsakes  fidelity,  all 
other  virtues  will  not  atone.  In  Japan  and  China 
alike  have  been  women  whose  virtue  has  exceeded 
that  of  man.’ 

“ The  wife  of  Nagoka  Itchu  no  Kami  Tadaoki 
was  the  daughter  of  Akechi  Mitsuhide,  the  re- 
tainer ofOda  Nobunaga,  who  killed  both  his  lord 
and  his  lord’s  son.  In  turn  he  was  destroyed  by 
Hideyoshi.  Later  Tadaoki,  at  the  time  of  Seki- 
ga-hara,  went  to  join  Ieyasu  in  the  east.  During 
his  absence  Ishida  Mitsunari  sent  troops  to  Tada- 
oki’s castle  to  seize  his  wife,  but  she  exclaimed, 
‘ I ’ll  not  disgrace  my  husband’s  house  through 
my  desire  for  life,’  and  killed  herself  before  the 
enemy  got  in.  Excited  by  her  virtue,  the  two  or 
three  samurai  who  were  with  her  fired  the  man- 
sion and  slew  themselves,  and  her  women  took 
hold  of  hands,  jumped  into  the  fire,  and  died. 
Even  yet  shall  we  praise  that  deed!  The  rebel 
Mitsuhide  had  such  a child,  scarcely  equalled  in 
China  or  Japan!  As  the  proverb  says:  ‘The 
general  has  no  seed,’  so  I ’ll  add, — The  heroic 
woman  has  no  seed. 

“ But  a guest  remarked:  * Not  so;  not  having 
seed  is  still  to  have  it.  Fidelity  makes  the  nature 
of  benevolence  and  righteousness  its  seed.  Then 
without  place  or  ancestor,  without  race,  without 
the  distinction  of  high  or  low,  male  or  female, 
without  family  connection,  good  children  come 


A TEA  HOUSE,  MIDDLE-CLASS  WOMEN, 


The  Way  of  the  “Samurai”  127 

from  evil  parents,  and  evil  children  from  the 
good.’ 

“The  teacher  was  greatly  pleased  and  said: 
‘ True!  I had  thought  only  of  man’s  nature,  not 
of  Heaven’s.  Such  virtue  of  women  and  the  vul- 
gar must  be  praised  as  Heaven’s  nature.  Thus 
will  the  samurai  be  excited  to  virtue  and  virtuous 
hearts  will  be  produced.’ 

“ L,et  me  speak  of  Shidzuka,  the  uneducated 
concubine  of  Minamoto  Yoshitsune.  She  was  a 
famous  dancer  in  Kyoto,  talented,  beautiful,  and 
beloved  of  Yoshitsune.  When  he  fled  she  went 
with  him  to  Mt.  Yoshino  and  then  returned. 
Called  to  Kamakura  and  examined  she  replied: 
‘ I know  so  far  as  Mt.  Yoshino.  No  further.’ 
She  lingered  there  until  the  birth  of  Yoshitsune’s 
child.  Yoritomo  desired  to  see  her  dance  and 
commanded  her  presence.  She  refused  repeatedly 
but  was  forced  to  comply  at  last.  Yoritomo 
expected  a song  and  dance  for  his  feast,  but  she 
sang  : 

“ ‘ To  and  fro  like  the  reel  * 

Would  that  old  times  might  return  ! 

I long  for  the  trace  of  the  man 

Who  entered  Yoshino’s  snow-white  peak.’ 

Yoritomo  cried  out  in  anger:  ‘ You  sing  of  that 
rebel  Yoshitsune  instead  of  celebrating  the  present 
time!  It  is  a crime!  ’ But  at  the  request  of  his 
wife  he  forgave  the  girl.  She  cared  not,  but  re- 
turned straight  to  Kyoto  and  lived  in  seclusion. 


128 


Japanese  Life 


Yoritomo’s  great  power  bent  trees  and  grass,  but 
she  feared  it  not.  Her  heart  was  wholly  set  on 
Yoshitsune  and  she  excelled  the  samurai  who 
died  with  him.” 

The  righteous  samurai  will  not  serve  himself  by 
taking  a new  master. 

‘ ‘ Pure-hearted  samurai  cease  not  to  appear.  In 
Kwan-ei-Sho-ho  (a.d.  1624-1647)  was  a branch 
temple  of  Tentokuji,  in  Shiba,  Edo,  where  always 
without  intermission  prayers  were  said.  One  day, 
at  evening,  as  the  priest  went  out  of  the  temple 
gate  he  observed  a man  with  a bundle.  He 
seemed  a traveller  and  not  a common  man.  When 
the  priest  returned  from  his  errand  there  was  the 
man  still  in  the  gateway.  Thinking  that  strange, 
the  priest  asked,  ‘ Who  are  you  ? Come  in  and 
rest.’  ‘ I am  listening  to  the  temple  prayers,’ 
the  man  replied,  ‘ for  I like  to  hear  them  said. 
On  your  invitation  I ’ll  go  in  and  have  a cup  of 
tea.’  So  in  they  went,  and  the  priest  inquired 
whence  he  came  and  whither  he  journeyed. 

“ The  man  replied,  ‘ From  Oshu.  I once  had  a 
friend  in  Yedo,  but  cannot  find  him.  So  I must 
find  some  place.’  And  the  priest  rejoined,  4 Stay 
here  to-night,  it  is  so  late.’  So  he  stayed,  and 
the  next  day  the  priest  asked  him  to  remain  until 
he  should  find  some  occupation.  He  thanked  the 
priest  and  remained.  It  soon  appeared  that  he 
was  an  educated  man,  and  the  head  of  Tentokuji 
called  him  and  helped  him  and  gave  him  various 
tasks  about  the  temple,  which  were  all  diligently 


The  Way  of  the  “Samurai”  129 

performed.  By  and  by  he  was  made  a superin- 
tendent of  many  priests  and  became  a person  of 
importance. 

‘ ‘ At  that  time  it  happened  that  a nobleman  who 
had  retired  from  active  life  was  making  researches 
into  the  history  of  the  past  and  sought  scholarly 
samurai  to  help  him,  paying  them  good  salaries. 
The  people  of  the  temple  told  him  of  this  man, 
Yuge,  and  highly  recommended  him  as  especially 
informed  about  the  past.  Yuge  thanked  the 
head  of  the  temple  and  said,  ‘ I do  not  intend  to 
enter  service  again,  but  your  kindness  entitles  you 
to  know  my  past.’  So  he  told  the  priest  his  real 
name  and  that  he  had  been  a retainer  of  Gamo 
Ujisato,  and  continued:  ‘Since  Gamo  was  de- 
stroyed I have  no  heart  for  service  under  any  other 
and  purposed  to  spend  my  life  as  a beggar.  With 
no  design  on  my  part  I have  become  a recipient  of 
the  blessings  of  the  temple,  and  now  my  one  de- 
sire is  to  repay  what  I have  received.  But  I find 
no  means  to  do  it.’  Then  he  showed  the  testi- 
monial Gamo  had  given  him  for  his  services  in 
the  battle  of  Kunohe,  and  elsewhere,  and  the  let- 
ters he  had  received  from  many  nobles  offering 
him  employment.  ‘ All  are  useless  now,’  he  said, 
and  put  them  in  the  fire. 

“ So  he  lived  long  in  the  temple.  And  in  the 
year  a.d.  1657,  when  Tentokuji  was  burned, 
Yuge  said:  ‘ Permit  me  to  help,’  and  worked  on 
after  the  chief  priest  and  all  the  other  priests  had 

fled,  saving  the  images,  furniture,  and  books. 

9 


130 


Japanese  Life 

When  all  were  safe  he  sent  off  the  men  who  had 
been  helping  him. 

“ Afterwards  in  the  ruins  of  the  main  hall  was 
found  the  body  of  a man,  sitting  with  clasped 
hands  like  a priest.  It  was  Yuge,  and  all  the 
temple  folk  wept  and  grieved  for  him.  But  he 
had  no  desire  to  abide  in  the  temple;  he  had 
merely  waited  for  an  opportunity  to  return  the 
favours  he  had  received.  At  the  fire  he  found 
the  opportunity  he  sought,  and  after  working  to 
the  end  purposely  perished  in  the  flames.  How 
pure  and  holy  was  his  heart!  ” 

The  minister  may  show  righteousness  in  time 
of  peace  equal  to  the  soldier’s  in  time  of  war. 

‘ ‘ The  foremost  place  in  the  battle  seems  a 
place  of  difficulty,  but  is  not,  and  to  remonstrate 
with  one’s  lord  seems  easy,  but  it  is  not.  Tord 
and  servant  praise  the  foremost  spear,  but  I 
do  not  hear  them  praising  him  who  loyally 
reproves. 

“ In  Kwan-ri-Kan-ei  (1624-1643)  the  former 
lord  of  Echizen,  Io  no  Kami,  had  a minister  named 
Sugita  Iki.  He  had  risen  from  the  ranks  by  his 
merits.  It  was  his  business  to  provide  the  funds 
for  his  lord’s  very  expensive  attendance  in  Yedo. 
Not  fearing  his  lord’s  wrath,  he  was  ever  ready  to 
reprove.  And  once  it  happened  when  Io  no  Kami 
was  in  Echizen  that  he  went  hawking,  and  on  his 
return  his  ministers  went  forth  to  meet  him.  He 
was  unusually  happy  and  said,  ‘ The  young  men 
have  never  done  better.  If  they  always  work  as 


The  Way  of  the  “ Samurai” 


131 

well  they  are  certain  of  employment  by  the  Sho- 
gun in  case  of  war.  Rejoice  with  me!  ’ So  all 
congratulated  him  except  Sugita  alone.  He  said 
nothing,  remaining  at  the  foot  of  the  line.  Io  no 
Kami  waited  a while  wonderingly,  and  then  said, 

‘ What  do  you  think  ? * And  Sugita  replied, 

‘ With  due  respect,  yet  are  your  remarks  a cause 
for  grief.  When  the  samurai  went  with  you 
their  thought  was  this, — If  we  do  not  please 
him  he  may  kill  us  ; and  they  took  final  fare- 
well of  wife  and  child.  So  I have  heard.  If 
they  thus  hate  their  lord  they  will  be  useless  in 
battle.  Unless  you  know  this  it  is  foolish  to  rely 
on  them.’ 

“ Io  no  Kami  scowled,  and  his  sword-bearer  said 
to  Sugita,  ‘ Go,  please!  ’ But  Sugita  scowled  at 
him  and  said,  ‘My  task  is  not  to  go  hawking  with 
him  and  surround  monkey  or  wild  boar!  Do  not 
tell  me  what  is  of  use!  ’ So  he  cast  aside  his 
short  sword,  went  to  Io’s  side  and  said:  ‘ Kill  me! 
It  is  far  better  than  to  live  in  vain  and  see  your 
downfall!  I shall  count  it  a sign  of  your  favour!  ’ 
So  he  folded  his  hands  and  stretched  out  his  neck 
to  the  blow.  Io  went  to  his  apartment  without  a 
word.  And  the  other  ministers  said  to  Sugita: 
‘ What  you  say  is  true,  but  have  a regard  to  the 
proper  season.  It  was  ill  to  mar  the  pleasure  of 
his  return.’  But  Sugita  replied:  ‘ There  is  never 
a proper  season  for  remonstrance.  I thought  it 
fitting  to-day.  I have  risen  from  the  ranks  and 
doubtless  look  at  things  differently  from  you.  My 


i32 


Japanese  Life 

death  is  of  no  consequence.’  All  listened  with 
admiration  to  his  words. 

‘ ‘ Sugita  went  home  and  prepared  himself  for 
hara  kiri , awaiting  his  lord’s  word.  His  wife  had 
been  with  him  from  the  time  he  was  in  the  ranks, 
and  to  her  he  said:  ‘ I have  a word  to  leave  with 
you.  A woman  cannot  be  directly  honoured  by 
our  lord,  but  as  he  has  honoured  me  you  have 
shared  in  it.  You  are  no  longer  the  wife  of  a foot 
soldier  but  of  a minister.  You  have  many  serv- 
ants. It  is  an  infinite  blessing  he  has  conferred 
on  you,  is  it  not?  After  I am  dead,  remember 
this  great  blessing  morning  and  evening  and  feel 
no  hatred  to  your  lord.  If  in  your  grief  you  hate 
him  in  the  least  and  it  appear  in  words,  in  the 
depths  of  Hades  I shall  know  it  and  be  dis- 
pleased.’ In  constant  expectation  he  waited 
until  late  at  night,  when  there  came  a rapping  at 
his  door.  Some  one  said:  ‘ His  lordship  has 
business  for  you.  Come  to  the  castle.’  ‘ The 
time  has  come,’  Sugita  thought,  as  he  obeyed. 
But  Io  sent  for  Sugita  to  come  direct  to  his  bed- 
chamber and  said:  ‘ I cannot  sleep  for  thoughts 
of  your  words  to-day.  So  I have  sent  for  you  so 
late  at  night.  I need  not  speak  of  my  errors.  I 
am  filled  with  admiration  at  your  straightforward 
remonstrance.’  Therewith  he  handed  Sugita  a 
sword  as  a reward.  At  this  so  unexpected  event 
Sugita  wept  as  he  withdrew.” 

The  righteous  judge  gives  up  his  all,  when  loy- 
alty compels  a decision  that  is  wrong: 


The  Way  of  the  “Samurai”  133 

**  Amano  ruled  in  Suruga  and  his  income  was 
thirty  thousand  koku  1 of  rice.  His  estates  joined 
the  Shogun' s and  one  day  a man  who  came  from 
the  Shogun' s land  stole  some  bamboo  and  was 
killed  by  Amano’ s three  soldiers  stationed  there 
as  guards. 

“ The  Shogun' s deputy  demanded  the  punish- 
ment of  the  guards,  as  they  had  killed  one  of  the 
people  of  the  Shogun ; but  Amano  replied:  ‘ To 
kill  a thief  is  no  crime.  It  was  done  at  my  com- 
mand, and  if  there  is  any  guilt  it  is  mine.’ 

‘ ‘ On  appeal  to  Yedo  an  officer  was  sent  to  Suruga 
who  said  to  Amano, — ‘Even  though  you  are  right, 
yet  will  the  authority  of  the  Shogun  be  weakened 
if  he  is  not  obeyed.  Draw  lots  and  kill  one  of 
the  three  men.’  And  Amano  replied,  ‘To  that 
argument  I must  yield,  but  the  strong  samurai 
does  not  consent  to  remain  in  peace  through  the 
slaying  of  innocent  men.  I shall  give  up  my 
rank.’  So  he  left  his  castle  and  disappeared. 

‘ ‘ Tong  after  one  met  an  ascetic  whom  he  took  to 
be  Amano,  whether  rightly  or  not  we  do  not  know. 
He  was  a pure-hearted  samurai  and  could  neither 
kill  his  soldier  nor  disobey  his  lord.  He  could 
not  remain  in  the  world,  so  he  gave  up  his  thir- 
ty thousand  koku  and  disappeared.  That  is  un- 
paralleled.” 

But  beggars  even  may  show  the  same  truth: 

“ Ten  years  ago  on  the  17th  day  of  the  12th 

'A  koku  is  5.13  bushels.  Estates  were  measured  by 
the  number  of  koku  of  rice  they  produced. 


134 


Japanese  Life 

month  of  the  year  U \ Mitsu  no  to , of  the  period 
Kyoho  (Jan.  12,  a.d.  1724)  a clerk  named  Ichijuro, 
in  the  employment  of  a merchant  of  Muromachi, 
Yedo,  named  Echigoya  Kichibei,  lost  a purse 
containing  thirty  ryo 1 * * as  he  was  returning  from 
collecting  some  accounts.  He  thought  it  had  been 
stolen,  but  returned  over  his  route  looking  for  it 
carefully.  At  last  a beggar  met  him  and  asked, 
‘ What  have  you  lost?  Is  it  money?’  Ichijuro 
told  of  his  loss  and  the  beggar  said  that  he  had 
found  the  purse  and  sought  its  owner.  So  Ichi- 
juro  exactly  described  its  contents,  money,  papers, 
and  all,  and  the  beggar  gave  it  back  to  him.  In 
his  joy  at  the  unexpected  event  Ichijuro  offered 
the  beggar  five  ryo , but  the  beggar  would  not  take 
them.  ‘ It  was  all  gone  and  you  returned  it.  Do 
take  five  ryo!'  said  Ichijuro.  But  the  beggar 
persisted,  4 Had  I wanted  five  ryo  I should  not 
have  returned  the  thirty.  But  I did  not  think  it 
mine  when  I picked  it  up.  I thought  that  some 
one  had  lost  his  master’s  money  and  would  be  in 
trouble.  Some  men  might  have  kept  it,  but  I 
found  it  and  desired  to  give  it  back.  Now  as  I 
have  returned  it  my  business  is  at  an  end.’  And 
off  he  ran  as  fast  as  he  could  go.  But  Ichijuro 
took  an  itchi  bu  from  the  purse  and  followed  him 
crying,  ‘ It  is  cold  to-day!  Take  this  for  sake. ’ 

1 A ryo  was  the  standard  coin.  Its  value  varied  greatly 

at  different  periods,  as  the  coinage  was  often  debased.  A 

silver  ryo  was  worth,  say,  #1.33,  and  a gold  ryo , $6.50. 

A bu  was  one-fourth  of  a tyo,  silver. 


The  Way  of  the  “Samurai”  135 

So  the  beggar  took  it  and  said,  ‘ I ’ll  drink  the 
sake.'  And  in  answer  to  a question  he  said,  4 I 
am  Hachibei,  a beggar  of  Kurumazenshichi.  ’ 

“ When  Ichijuro  went  home  and  told  his  story 
his  master  wept  in  admiration  and  determined  to 
give  the  beggar  the  five  ryo.  So  on  the  following 
morning  he  sent  Ichijuro  and  his  chief  clerk  to 
Zenshichi,  the  beggar’s  master,  to  ask  him  to  try 
and  persuade  Hachibei  to  take  the  money.  But 
Zenshichi  said,  ‘ The  beggar  Hachibei  got  a bu 
somewhere  last  night  and  called  his  friends  to- 
gether and  had  a feast  of  fish  and  sake.  He 
drank  a great  deal  himself,  and  whether  it  did  not 
agree  with  him,  he  died  this  morning.’  Ichijuro 
was  astonished  and  asked  the  man  not  to  send 
the  body  off  or  have  it  buried,  but  told  his 
master,  who  sent  for  the  corpse  and  expended 
the  five  ryo  on  a funeral.  It  was  certainly  won- 
derful that  a merchant  should  thus  be  affected  by 
righteousness. 

“ Hachibei  was  not  an  ordinary  man.  Doubt- 
less he  entered  the  beggars’  guild  because  homeless 
and  alone.  When  he  had  money  for  a feast  for 
his  companions  he  thought  it  a good  end  and 
choked  himself.  Had  he  been  in  power  he  would 
not  have  used  his  authority  to  take  things  belong- 
ing to  another.  Some  men  are  samurai  in  name 
but  beggars  in  heart — that  man  was  called  a beg- 
gar but  was,  in  truth,  a samurai." 

But  this  identification  of  righteousness  with 
loyalty  and  self-sacrifice  was  exaggerated  until  a 


136 


Japanese  Life 

disregard  for  one’s  life  could  atone  for  crime,  and 
recklessness  became  the  first  of  virtues.  By  its 
excess  we  the  more  clearly  see  that  true  self-sac- 
rifice can  be  attained  only  after  the  sanctity  of  the 
person,  in  others  and  in  self,  as  sacred  and  of 
God,  has  been  perceived. 

“In  Kaga  I had  a friend,  a samurai  of  low  rank. 
While  absent  in  Adzuma  with  his  lord,  his  son 
Kujuro,  fifteen  years  old,  quarrelling  with  a neigh- 
bour’s son  of  the  same  age  over  a game  of  go, 
lost  his  self-control,  and  before  he  could  be  seized 
drew  his  sword  and  cut  the  boy  down.  While  the 
wounded  boy  was  under  the  surgeon’s  care  Ku- 
juro was  in  custody,  but  he  showed  no  fear,  and 
his  words  and  acts  were  calm  beyond  his  years. 
After  some  days  the  boy  died  and  Kujuro  was 
condemned  to  hara-kiri . The  officer  in  charge 

gave  him  a farewell  feast  the  night  before  he  died. 
He  calmly  wrote  to  his  mother,  took  ceremonious 
farewell  of  his  keeper  and  all  in  the  house,  and 
then  said  to  the  guests:  ‘ I regret  to  leave  you  all 
and  should  like  to  stay  and  talk  till  daybreak;  but 
I must  not  be  sleepy  when  I commit  hara-kiri  to- 
morrow, so  I ’ll  go  to  bed  at  once.  Do  you  stay 
at  your  ease  and  drink  the  wine.’  So  he  went  to 
his  room  and  fell  asleep,  all  being  filled  with  ad- 
miration as  thej1'  heard  him  snore.  On  the  mor- 
row he  arose  early,  bathed,  dressed  himself  with 
care,  made  all  his  preparations  with  perfect  calm- 
ness and  then,  quiet  and  composed,  killed  himself. 
No  old,  trained,  self-possessed  samurai  could  have 


The  Way  of  the  “Samurai”  137 

excelled  him.  No  one  who  saw  it  could  speak  of 
it  for  years  without  tears. 

“ At  the  beginning  of  the  affair  I wrote  to  his 
father:  ‘Though  Kujuro  commit  hara-kiri  he  is 
so  calm  and  collected  that  there  need  be  no  regret. 
Be  at  peace.*  But  as  Sugimoto  read  the  letter  he 
remarked:  ‘A  child  often  will  be  brave  enough  as 
others  encourage  it  before  the  moxa  is  applied, 
and  yet  burst  into  tears  when  it  feels  the  heat.  My 
child  is  so  young  that  I cannot  be  at  peace  until 
I hear  that  he  has  done  the  deed  with  bravery.’ 
As  the  proverb  says,  ‘ Only  such  fathers  have 
such  sons.’  I have  told  you  this  that  Kujuro 
may  be  remembered.  It  would  be  shameful  were 
it  to  be  forgotten  that  so  young  a boy  performed 
such  a deed.” 

The  stories  could  be  multiplied,  for  they  illus- 
trate the  unchanging  ideal  of  righteousness. 
Shinto  neither  inculcated  it,  nor  contained  illus- 
trations of  it,  yet  Shinto,  with  its  worship  of  the 
marvellous  and  its  deification  of  the  wonderful, 
was  the  true  expression  of  the  soul  of  Old  Japan, 
a soul  which,  come  to  self-consciousness,  found 
disregard  of  self,  devotion  of  the  self  to  death  as 
the  supreme  sacrifice,  and  worship  of  this  ethical 
self-sacrifice  to  be  its  true  religion. 

Yet  Shinto  again  asserts  itself.  All  the  devo- 
tion of  Old  Japan — its  loyalty  to  baron  and  leader, 
its  passionate  disregard  of  life  and  self,  gathers 
around  the  Kmperor.  It  is  a new  cult.  Repeat- 
edly in  the  past  men  rebelled  against  him,  de- 


138 


Japanese  Life 

posed  him,  and  treated  him  with  contempt.  But 
in  our  day  he  has  become  the  symbol  of  the  nation. 
Around  him  gathers  a dim  belief  in  his  divine 
origin  and  in  the  present  power  of  the  long  line  of 
his  ancestors.  All  officials  join  in  the  Shinto 
rites  before  the  shrines  of  Emperor  and  heroes — 
and  all  investigation  which  lays  bare  the  facts  of 
the  remote  past  is  discouraged.  A belief  in  the 
nation  embodied  in  the  Emperor  has  become  the 
people’s  creed,  and  a passionate  patriotism  is  their 
religion.  As  they  were  in  the  past  so  are  they  to- 
day— but  a broader  outlook  and  a higher  vision 
have  been  combined  to  translate  the  politics  of 
feudal  days  into  the  world  politics  of  the  twentieth 
century.  It  is  no  longer  clan  against  clan,  nor 
even  West  against  East,  but  Japan  against  Russia 
winning  for  the  divine  land  its  rightful  place 
among  the  foremost  nations  of  the  earth. 


CHAPTER  X 


THE  IylFE  OF  THE  ‘ ‘ SAMURAI  ’ ’ IN  OUD  JAPAN 
RAI  HAKUSEKI  has  given  us  a picture  of 


the  character  and  the  life  of  the  samurai  of 


Old  Japan.  He  lived  in  the  middle  period  of  the 
long  peace  which  followed  the  victories  of  Toku- 
gawa  Ieyasu,  while  the  power  of  the  Shogun  was 
still  unshaken,  and  the  thought  of  coming  changes 
had  not  entered  the  minds  of  the  most  progressive 
men.  His  autobiography  was  written  for  his  own 
family,  in  1716,  and  it  was  given  to  the  public 
only  in  1890  when  a variety  of  manuscripts  by 
the  author  were  printed.  It  has  therefore  the 
advantage  of  being  written  by  a Japanese  for 
Japanese,  without  thought  of  foreign  reader  or 
critic,  and  it  gives  a picture  of  life  truer  than 
may  be  possible  in  these  more  self-conscious 
days,  when  Japan  has  adopted  a policy  and  is 
never  unmindful  that  the  world  watches  its  suc- 
cess. Arai  does  not  describe  Japan  for  the 
traveller,  nor  for  the  student,  but  he  writes  when 
his  day’s  work  is  done  with  the  unconsciousness 
of  the  man  whose  environment  is  unchallenged 


139 


i4°  Japanese  Life 

and  whose  ideas  are  the  expression  of  an  orthodox 
philosophy. 

He  claimed  descent  from  the  two  most  aristo- 
cratic of  the  princely  families,  but  his  grandfather 
had  lost  his  estates  and  Arai  refused  to  believe  the 
stories  told  of  him.  Arai’s  father  made  his  own 
way  in  life  and  at  Arai’s  birth  was  past  middle  life 
and  the  trusted  adviser  of  a petty  noble.  Arai  de- 
scribes him  as  a representative  samurai : “ As  I 
remember  my  father  he  was  very  grey,  his  face 
was  square,  his  forehead  high,  his  eyes  large  and 
his  beard  heavy.  He  was  short,  large-boned,  and 
strongly  built.  He  showed  no  sign  of  emotion  in 
his  voice,  nor  did  he  laugh  loudly  or  scold  in  an 
angry  voice.  His  words  were  few,  his  movements 
dignified,  and  I never  saw  him  surprised  or  lack- 
ing in  self-control.  When  off  duty  he  cleaned  his 
room,  hung  up  some  ancient  painting,  arranged  a 
few  flowers  of  the  season,  and  sat  still  all  da}'  or 
sketched  flowers.  He  did  not  care  for  coloured 
pictures.  When  well  he  would  not  have  his  serv- 
ants wait  on  him  at  meals.  He  ate  two  bowls  of 
rice  and  a variety  of  other  things,  weighing  them 
that  he  might  not  hurt  himself  by  eating  too 
much  of  any  one.  He  did  not  pick  and  choose, 
but  ate  what  was  set  before  him,  whether  he  fan- 
cied it  or  not,  weighing  the  dishes  in  his  hand  to 
determine  the  quantity.  He  did  not  order  his 
meals,  though  he  insisted  upon  having  the  fresh 
food  of  the  four  seasons  when  it  was  in  market, 
and  ate  it  with  the  family.  He  was  easily  affected 


The  “ Samurai  ” in  Old  Japan  I41 

by  wine  and  merely  took  the  cup  in  his  hand  at 
the  ceremonies.  Tea  he  much  liked. 

“At  home  he  wore  carefully  washed  clothes,  no- 
thing soiled  even  in  bed,  and  when  he  went  out 
his  clothes  were  fine  and  new,  but  not  extravagant 
nor  beyond  his  rank.  He  chose  carefully  the 
decorations  for  his  fans,  having  his  better  ones 
decorated  by  famous  artists,  and  still  more  particu- 
lar was  he  as  to  the  ornaments  of  his  sword  and 
armour.  His  life  followed  a strict  and  uninter- 
rupted routine:  he  awoke  at  four  in  the  morning, 
bathed  in  cold  water  and  dressed  his  own  hair. 
In  very  cold  weather  my  mother  wished  him  to 
use  hot  water  for  his  bath,  but  he  would  not,  be- 
cause of  the  trouble  to  the  servants.  When  he 
was  past  seventy  fire  was  kept  in  the  foot-warmer 
at  night  and,  as  water  could  be  heated  there  with- 
out trouble  to  any  one,  he  used  it  for  his  morning 
bath. 

“ My  parents  were  Buddhists  and  after  their 
bath  they  put  on  special  garments  and  worshipped 
the  Buddhas,  and  on  the  anniversaries  of  the  death 
of  their  parents  they  prepared  the  rice  without  aid 
from  the  servants.  When  they  awakened  before 
dawn  they  sat  up  in  bed  and  silently  awaited  the 
day,  arising  as  soon  as  it  was  light  enough  for 
them  to  see. 

“ Father’s  road  lay  to  the  north,  but  he  went 
out  of  the  south  gate,  and  turned  to  the  east,  re- 
turning he  went  to  the  west  and  entered  by  the 
north  gate.  His  sandals  had  iron  knobs  and  he 


142 


Japanese  Life 

walked  with  resounding  steps,  giving  notice  of  his 
approach.  All  knew  his  tread  and  hushed  crying 
babies  at  the  sound.” 

In  this  the  classical  examples  were  followed:  in 
the  morning  he  turned  to  the  east,  and  in  the 
afternoon  to  the  west,  for  he  would  not  turn  his 
back  to  the  sun : he  walked  with  loud  steps,  that 
he  might  not  be  thought  to  sneak  upon  any  one 
unawares,  and  his  whole  conduct  indicated  a man 
of  self-control  and  self-respect.  He  knew  also  the 
nature  of  his  countrymen,  as  Arai  illustrates: 

‘ ‘ While  still  a young  man  father  was  put  in 
charge  of  three  samurai  who  were  charged  with 
murder.  He  accepted  the  position  on  condition 
that  the  swords  of  the  men  were  returned  to  them. 
When  this  had  been  done  he  said  to  his  prisoners: 
‘ If  you  escape  cut  off  my  head  and  take  it  with 
you.  I cannot  fight  three  men.’  So  he  took  off 
his  own  sword,  wrapped  it  in  a cloth,  and  put  it 
aside.  Unarmed  he  ate  and  slept  with  them  for 
ten  days,  when  they  were  acquitted.  They  then 
told  him  how  they  had  determined  to  fight  him, 
three  unarmed  against  one  armed,  but  that  they 
could  do  nothing  when  their  swords  were  returned 
and  his  made  useless.  It  were  better  to  stand  trial 
than  for  three  men  armed  to  attack  one  without  a 
sword.  ’ ’ 

Arai  briefly  describes  his  mother:  “ She  wrote 
a good  hand,  composed  verses,  read  many  books, 
was  a skilful  player  of  go  and  on  the  musical 
instruments.  She  thought  women  should  weave 


The  “Samurai”  in  Old  Japan  143 

cloth  and  make  clothes,  so  she  made  father’s  and 
mine.  I have  some  of  her  making  yet.  The  pro- 
verb says,  * Tike  marry  like,’  and  so  was  it  with 
my  parents,  they  were  alike  in  words  and  actions.” 

Arai’s  father  was  involved  in  troubles  in  the 
clan,  and  in  his  old  age  lost  his  position,  and  he 
and  his  wife  shaved  their  heads  and  took  up  their 
residence  in  the  temple  of  Tokyo,  of  which  they 
were  parishioners.  The  mother  died  when  she 
was  sixty- three,  “leaving  father  and  son,”  Arai 
writes,  “in  loneliness  inexpressible.”  The  father 
died  when  he  was  eighty- two,  Arai  being  then  in 
good  circumstances,  having  retrieved  the  fortunes 
of  the  family. 

Arai’s  education  was  severe.  Evidently  his 
father  did  not  aid  him,  but  his  mother  gave  him 
all  her  assistance.  He  began  to  write  when  he 
was  three  and  to  study  poetry  when  he  was  six. 
At  eight  an  immense  task  in  writing  the  Chinese 
ideographs  was  set  him,  keeping  him  at  work 
until  late  at  night.  When  the  days  were  short  he 
moved  his  table  out  on  the  veranda,  and  when 
he  grew  sleepy  and  began  to  nod  his  friend  threw 
a pot  of  cold  water  over  him.  So  he  went  to  work 
again,  and  as  he  gradually  became  dry  and  sleepy 
again  his  friend  threw  a second  pailful  of  water 
over  him  and  with  its  aid  he  completed  his  as- 
signed task.  From  his  ninth  year  he  conducted 
his  father’s  correspondence,  and  from  his  thir- 
teenth his  lord’s.  At  eleven  he  was  taught  to 
fence  and  took  up  martial  exercises  to  the  neglect, 


144 


Japanese  Life 


he  tells  us,  of  his  books,  reading  now  chiefly 
stories  of  the  wars.  At  seventeen  he  found  a book 
which  taught  him  something  of  the  “ Way,”  so 
he  turned  to  the  Chinese  classics  and  gave  his 
strength  to  them.  He  thus  sums  up  his  studies: 
“ As  I review  my  life  it  would  appear  that  I should 
have  made  much  greater  progress  had  I had  good 
teachers,  as  I began  to  write  at  three,  study  poetry 
at  six,  and  the  ‘ Way  ’ at  seventeen.  When  I had 
time  for  study  I was  poor  and  when  books  were 
many  I had  no  time  to  read.  In  this  matter  none 
has  been  more  unfortunate.  That  I have  so  far 
succeeded  is  because  I followed  father’s  advice  and 
‘ attacked  the  most  difficult  task  first.’  ” 

Arai  took  the  same  side  as  his  father  in  the 
troubles  in  the  clan  and  suffered  with  him,  when 
after  the  death  of  his  lord  the  heir  came  to  power, 
and  sought  his  advisers  from  the  party  which  had 
opposed  his  father.  Arai  became  a ronin , a mas- 
terless gentleman,  and  no  longer  officially  a samu- 
rai. He  supported  himself  in  various  ways,  but 
in  his  extremity  he  kept  his  pride.  Repeatedly 
he  was  sought  in  marriage  by  rich  merchants  for 
their  daughters,  but  though  offered  large  portions 
with  the  bride  he  refused  with  scorn,  preferring  to 
suffer  as  a samurai  to  living  in  luxury  as  a mer- 
chant. So,  too,  he  refused  to  seek  employment 
under  any  other  noble  until  restored  to  favour  by 
his  own  master,  for  had  he  not  been  taught  that 
“ though  lord  ceases  to  be  lord,  servant  does  not 
cease  to  be  servant,”  and  that  “no  man  can  serve 


The  “Samurai”  in  Old  Japan  145 

two  lords”  ? Hence  he  waited  until  at  last,  his 
unjust  reproach  removed,  he  entered  again  into  the 
position  of  an  active  samurai , bringing  comfort  to 
his  aged  father,  who  had  strongly  commended  the 
sacrificing  course  of  his  son,  like  him  preferring 
poverty  to  indignity. 

Characteristically,  though  Arai  mentions  the 
women  he  refused  to  marry,  he  tells  us  nothing  of 
his  wife,  and  mentions  his  children  only  in  the  most 
incidental  way,  as,  also,  he  mentions  his  servants. 
Of  the  latter,  for  example,  he  tells  us  that  in  one 
instance  when  he  was  reduced  to  extremities  two 
insisted  upon  following  him,  and  when  he  told 
them  he  could  neither  pay  them  wages  nor  pro- 
vide them  food,  they  replied  that  it  would  be 
strange  indeed  if  two  able-bodied  persons  could 
not  provide  for  themselves  and  also  serve  him. 
So  they  had  their  way  and  went  along. 

After  various  adventures  he  became  tutor  to  the 
heir  of  the  Shogun , and  on  his  accession  to  the 
throne  Arai  was  made  court  lecturer,  a position  of 
high  honour,  and,  in  Arai’s  hands,  of  commanding 
influence.  Never  did  preacher  take  his  task  more 
seriously,  for  to  him  the  Chinese  philosophy  was 
the  expression  of  the  final  truth  of  the  universe 
and  the  inspired  guide  for  man.  It  set  forth  “the 
Way  of  Heaven  and  Earth  and  Man.”  During 
nineteen  years  Arai  lectured  more  than  1299  times 
before  his  lord  on  the  Chinese  ethics,  philosophy, 
history,  and  poetry.  He  describes  the  scene  thus: 
“Yearly  when  the  lectures  began  we  had  an 


146 


Japanese  Life 

opening  ceremony  and  the  courses  of  study  for  the 
year  were  determined,  and  at  the  close  of  the  cere- 
mony I was  given  two  suits  of  clothes.  Lectures 
began  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  the  first  month  and 
continued,  even  on  ordinary  festivals,  to  the  end  of 
the  twelfth  month,  being  interrupted  only  by  very 
great  occasions.  When  I became  feeble  my  lord 
bade  me  come  in  the  evening  in  hot  weather  and 
in  the  middle  of  the  day  in  cold.  He  had  one  fire- 
box put  between  us  when  the  weather  was  severe, 
and  another  behind  me.  When  it  rained  or  snowed 
he  sent  a servant  to  bid  me  stay  at  home.  Usu- 
ally he  wore  his  robes  of  ceremony  at  the  lecture, 
excepting  in  summer,  when  he  wore  his  unex- 
tended robes  and  the  skirt  of  a samurai.  He  did 
not  sit  on  the  dais,  but  on  the  mats  nine  feet  away 
from  me,  and  even  in  the  hottest  weather  he  did 
not  use  his  fan  nor  brush  away  the  mosquitoes, 
and  if  he  chanced  to  have  a cold  he  carefully 
averted  his  head  when  he  blew  his  nose.  Though 
the  lecture  lasted  two  hours,  all  sat  immovable 
throughout.  Spring  and  autumn  he  took  me 
with  him  to  his  villa,  where  I had  a special  apart- 
ment, with  wine  and  tea.  Often  he  asked  me  to 
write  verses.  He  gave  me  costumes  at  the  four 
seasons  and  gifts  of  gold  and  silver  at  the  close 
of  the  year.  When  he  became  Shogun  he  sent 
very  fine  silks  to  my  wife  and  children  in  the 
spring  and  in  the  summer  thin  silks  and  cakes. 
He  often  sent  these  last,  and  it  became  the  custom, 
though  it  was  done  for  no  one  else.” 


IN  THE  PALACE  OF  THE  SHOGUN.  YE  DO. 


The  “Samurai”  in  Old  Japan  147 

The  conception  of  the  State  in  the  Chinese  phil- 
osophy is  like  Plato’s, — the  philosopher  should  be 
king.  But  Sages  are  few,  and  common  men  must 
shape  their  lives  by  the  transmitted  wisdom  of 
the  past.  So  Arai  regarded  himself  as  the  teacher 
of  practical  righteousness  and  did  not  hesitate  to 
rebuke  his  master.  Like  many  a samurai  he  was 
almost  a Puritan  in  his  notions,  and  taught  the 
Shogun  to  avoid  the  very  appearance  of  evil.  He 
reproved  him  for  appearing  in  private  theatricals 
in  the  palace,  and  when,  in  Arai’s  absence,  some 
dancing-girls  were  brought  to  the  Court,  Arai  on 
his  return  sent  in  his  resignation  and  withdrew  it 
only  on  elaborate  explanations  and  apologies.  He 
was  conscious  not  only  of  the  evil  effects  of  luxury 
and  of  vice,  but  he  valued  public  opinion,  and 
seemed  mindful  of  the  unseen  presence  of  the 
illustrious  dead  and  of  the  generations  yet  to  come, 
and  would  have  conduct  so  ordered  that  one  might 
meet  his  peers  of  the  present,  the  past,  or  the  future 
without  concealment  and  without  reproach. 

In  affairs  of  State  Arai  had  as  high  ideals  as  in 
private  life.  There  was  need  for  reformation.  The 
fifth  Shogun  of  the  Tokugawa  family  ruled  from 
1680-1709.  He  was  at  once  a superstitious  Bud- 
dhist and  a patron  of  the  Chinese  philosophy,  but 
his  life  illustrated  the  virtues  of  neither  faith. 
Profligate  and  prodigal  in  his  private  life,  loose 
and  partial  in  his  administration  of  public  affairs, 
things  went  rapidly  from  bad  to  worse.  The 
finances  were  deranged,  the  currency  was  debased, 


1 48 


Japanese  Life 

taxes  were  increased,  the  administration  of  justice 
was  debauched,  and  religious  superstition  at  the 
instigation  of  Buddhist  priests  protected  birds  and 
dogs  at  the  cost  of  human  lives.  The  historian 
tells  us  that  the  heads  of  men  who  had  been  exe- 
cuted because  of  injuries  to  animals,  chiefly  to 
dogs,  filled  thirty  casks,  and  he  sums  up  the  situa- 
tion thus:  “ That  such  a deteriorated  Government 
did  not  find  any  one  to  lead  a rebellion  when  men’s 
minds  were  full  of  it  was  because  of  the  trans- 
mitted virtue  of  the  Tokugawa  family.”  We 
more  prosaic  and  unbelieving  foreigners  would 
say,  because  the  fifth  Shogun  died  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  the  sixth,  whose  philosopher  at  Court 
was  Arai  Hakuseki. 

The  sixth  Shogun  ruled  from  1709  to  1712,  and 
his  infant  son  succeeding  lived  only  until  1715. 
During  these  six  years  Arai  was  the  power  behind 
the  throne  He  lived  a strenuous  life,  and  sought 
a root-and-branch  reformation.  In  some  things 
he  succeeded,  but  in  most  he  failed.  His  time  was 
too  short,  the  abuses  were  too  great,  and  the  foes 
of  the  public  weal  were  too  thoroughly  entrenched. 
L,et  me  quote  an  instance  to  show  how  one  squalid 
“ touch  of  nature  makes  the  whole  world  kin.” 

“Things  were  bought  and  sold  by  public  tender, 
opened  in  the  presence  of  officials  and  merchants, 
the  lowest  offer  to  be  accepted  and  payment  to  be 
on  completion  of  the  work.  But  there  were  gifts 
to  officials  when  the  tenders  were  sent  in,  and 
thank-offerings  when  the  work  was  done.  Those 


The  “Samurai”  in  Old  Japan  149 

who  gave  nothing  got  nothing,  however  low  their 
bids.  No  official  failed  to  get  rich  and  the  treas- 
ury was  exhausted.  Things  which  were  worth 
an  hundred  ryd  cost  ten  thousand,  the  merchants 
also  getting  rich.  So  they  divided  the  public 
wealth  between  them.  ’ ’ Arai  expresses  his  j udg- 
ments  without  reserve:  most  of  the  officials  were 
corrupt,  some  were  stupid,  some  were  pedants, 
and  only  two  or  three  stood  manfully  with  him 
for  the  correction  of  abuses. 

More  foreign  to  our  habits  of  thought  was 
Arai’s  regard  for  the  minutiae  of  etiquette.  No- 
thing was  too  detailed  for  his  notice,  the  shape  of 
the  roof  of  a gateway,  the  colour  of  his  foot-gear, 
the  style  and  shape  of  his  scabbard,  the  position 
he  should  occupy,  the  form  of  words  to  be  used, — 
all  had  profound  significance,  and  were  worthy  of 
the  study  of  a statesman.  Again  we  note  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Chinese  philosophy,  which  places 
propriety  among  the  greater  virtues  and  makes 
rites  as  important  as  righteousness.  Sometimes 
Arai’s  punctiliousness  had  to  do  with  grave  mat- 
ters of  State.  When,  for  example,  a Korean  em- 
bassy visited  the  Court  of  the  Shogun , Arai  studied 
every  detail  of  its  reception  with  the  utmost  care, 
profoundly  investigating  the  ancient  precedents 
and  insisting  upon  many  changes  in  the  more 
recent  usage.  He  compelled  the  visitors  to  treat 
the  Shogun  as  a king,  and  he  would  yield  neither 
to  the  Koreans,  nor  to  Japanese  officials,  nor  to  the 
Shogun  himself.  At  the  great  State  dinner  he 


i5°  Japanese  Life 

kept  the  Shogun  himself  waiting  for  an  hour  until 
he  forced  the  Korean  ambassador  to  yield  a matter 
of  precedence  which  was  in  dispute;  and  finally, 
Arai  carried  his  last  point  by  his  fierce  determina- 
tion to  kill  both  the  Japanese  minister  who  op- 
posed him  and  himself  if  he  could  not  have  his 
wa}'.  The  Koreans  yielded,  but,  on  their  return 
home,  suffered  death  for  their  compliance,  and  for 
generations  no  other  embassy  followed  them. 

Arai  is  credited  with  most  ambitious  plans  for 
his  lord,  even  with  the  design  of  ending  the  dual 
Government  once  for  all,  dethroning  the  Mikado, 
and  making  the  Shogun  in  fact  as  in  name  su- 
preme. As  a follower  of  Confucius  and  Mencius, 
he  believed  in  no  divine  right  of  kings  save  the 
right  conferred  by  fitness.  He  was  familiar  with 
the  saying  of  Mencius,  “ I have  never  heard  of  a 
king’s  losing  his  power,  though  many  a fellow  has 
been  driven  from  the  throne.”  Arai  had  no  faith 
in  Shinto,  but  rationalised  the  ancient  traditions 
and  scoffed  at  the  common  notions  of  a divine  an- 
cestry for  Emperor  or  people.  Had  the  Shogun 
been  of  an  equal  resolution,  or  had  the  lives  of  the 
sixth  and  seventh  Shoguns  been  spared,  Arai  might 
have  effected  this  revolution  with  momentous  con- 
sequences to  Japan  and  to  the  world.  But  of  his 
plans,  whatever  they  were,  he  says,  “ Now  all  is 
ended  like  an  unfinished  dream.” 

Arai’s  breadth  of  mind  was  shown  in  his  inter- 
views with  Father  Sidotti.  He  was  a Jesuit  who 
in  1709  was  left  alone  on  the  shores  of  southern 


The  “Samurai”  in  Old  Japan  151 


Japan,  disappearing  from  the  knowledge  of  Euro- 
peans until  the  publication  of  Arai  Hakuseki’s 
papers  in  our  day.  Sidotti  was  sent  as  a prisoner 
to  Yedo,  where  he  was  examined  in  1715  by  Arai. 
His  offence  in  visiting  Japan  was  double,  first  as 
a Christian  missionary  and  second  as  a European, 
and  both  offences  were  punishable  with  death. 
Arai  visited  him  repeatedly,  setting  down  the  sub- 
stance of  his  interviews,  and  concluding  thus: 

He  is  “a  very  brave  man,  whose  retentive  mem- 
ory holds  vast  stores  of  information,  sincere,  sober, 
earnest,  self-denying,  ready  to  appreciate  goodness 
in  others  however  slight,  and  with  the  meekness 
of  a Sage.  Born  where  that  odious  religion  pre- 
vails he  is  not  to  be  blamed  that  at  the  order  of  a 
superior  he  left  an  aged  mother  and  a brother  well 
advanced  in  years  and  came  hither  at  the  risk  of 
life,  enduring  the  perils  and  distresses  which  have 
overwhelmed  him  for  these  six  years  past.  I can- 
not but  wonder  at  his  firm  resolution.  To  put 
him  to  death  is  like  shedding  innocent  blood  and 
does  not  accord  with  the  conduct  of  Sages.  Nor 
will  he  recant  to  save  his  life.  As  he  has  come  in 
ignorance  of  our  laws  instruct  him  in  their  severity 
and  send  him  away.”  But  Arai  in  this,  as  in 
much  else,  was  too  enlightened  for  his  times. 
Father  Sidotti  was  kept  in  confinement  until  his 
death,  meanwhile  converting  the  woman  and  man 
who  served  him. 

When  the  infant  Shogun  died,  in  1716,  Arai 
with  the  other  chief  officials  resigned,  and  he  gives 


152 


Japanese  Life 

us  his  final  words  of  relief:  “As  you  know  I rose 
by  my  own  exertions  from  obscurity  to  a position 
high  beyond  my  hopes.  Such  promotion  is  not 
common.  With  all  modesty  I may  say  it  has 
been  my  duty  to  study  all  affairs  of  State  since  I 
became  lecturer  to  the  Shogun.  For  more  than 
ten  years  I have  scarcely  known  what  I have 
eaten,  and  have  been  ill  with  anxieties  day  and 
night.  With  the  accession  of  the  infant  Shogun 
I was  still  more  troubled,  but  I purposed  renewed 
diligence  until  death.  But  it  has  all  ended  like  a 
dream. 

“ Men  think  I was  content  and  that  I am  dis- 
consolate! Not  so!  My  release  is  like  taking 
the  burden  from  a feeble  horse  as  he  stands  laden 
for  a long  journey.  The  favours  of  the  present 
Shogun  are  double  those  of  his  predecessors,  for 
he  leaves  me  rank  and  emoluments  and  I grow 
old  in  peace.  I am  not  ungrateful  to  my  former 
masters,  but  what  is  more  painful  than  a task  be- 
yond one’s  powers  ? Now  I take  no  medicine, 
enjoy  my  food,  and  grow  old  in  peace,  content  to 
leave  the  time  of  death  to  fate.  That  mind  and 
body  for  one  day  should  be  at  rest  is  the  chief 
good.  No  pleasure  can  exceed  that.” 

Arai  shut  his  gate  to  visitors  and  devoted  his 
remaining  days  to  literary  pursuits.  He  was 
historian,  critic,  poet,  economist,  and,  most  of  all, 
statesman,  the  master  of  the  learning  of  his  time, 
independent  of  thought,  and  withal  the  active  and 
ambitious  man  of  great  affairs. 


The  “Samurai”  in  Old  Japan  153 

The  life  of  Arai  gives  us  a glimpse  into  the  real 
Japan,  and  as  we  study  his  life  and  his  opinions 
we  are  impressed  with  his  likeness  to  great  men 
among  ourselves.  Could  he  have  been  trans- 
planted into  the  Europe  of  his  day  he  would  have 
been  at  home  with  statesmen  and  scholars,  as 
samurai  of  like  position  in  our  time  prove  them- 
selves the  peers  of  the  leading  men  of  Western 
lands. 


CHAPTER  XI 

the  uife  of  the  “samurai,”  new  japan 

IN  Tokyo  one  meets  the  samurai  chiefly  as 
officials  and  in  foreign  dress  and  form.  There 
even  the  old  nobility  are  of  little  importance,  not 
influencing  the  life  of  the  nation,  and  the  samurai 
merely  as  samurai  have  lost  their  distinctive 
characteristics.  The  chief  distinction  is  between 
the  officials  and  the  people,  the  new  bureaucracy 
supplementing  the  older  aristocracy.  This  bureau- 
cracy, it  is  true,  is  composed  almost  wholly  of 
men  of  samurai  rank,  but  the  distinction  is  not 
imperative.  Naturally,  in  the  city  one  finds  a re- 
markable mixing  of  Japanese  and  foreign  ways  in 
the  present  stage  of  transition.  Gentlemen  have 
their  clubs,  somewhat  dreary  and  unattractive, 
and  European  houses  for  state  occasions,  with  the 
real  home  in  Japanese  style  in  the  rear.  The 
state  dinners  and  state  balls  are  in  imitation  of 
similar  functions  in  other  lands.  Only  on  some 
rare  occasion  is  the  foreigner  admitted  to  the  inner 
life,  and  it  is  best  perhaps  to  seek  to  understand 
it  away  from  the  capital.  Eet  us  therefore  take  a 

154 


The  “ Samurai”  in  New  Japan  155 

journey  into  the  country  to  one  of  the  great  clans 
where  something  of  the  old  life  is  still  preserved, 
and  where  the  gentlemen  will  entertain  us  with 
their  own  pleasures  and  in  their  own  ways. 

Taking  a little  steamer  from  Kobe,  in  eighteen 
hours  we  approach  the  capital  of  Tosa,  Kochi. 
The  entrance  to  the  bay  is  impossible  when  the 
wind  blows  strong  from  the  east  or  south,  for  the 
passage  winds  sharply  between  the  hills;  behind 
them  is  a landlocked  bay  on  which  lies  the  town. 
The  steamer  anchors  more  than  a mile  from  the 
landing-place  and  is  at  once  surrounded  with  little 
boats,  clean  and  swift,  and  decorated  with  many 
coloured  lanterns  and  window-slides.  Across  the 
quiet  waters,  reflecting  the  varied  green  of  the 
hills,  is  the  low  grey  town  with  its  tall  castle  at 
the  farther  end,  and  range  on  range  of  snowy 
mountains  for  the  distant  background.  The  town 
is  like  a score  that  we  have  seen  along  the  coast, 
low  and  mean  and  undistinguished — can  it  be  in- 
teresting or  is  there  anything  attractive  in  this 
humble  place  ? 

Our  friends  come  clambering  up  the  ship  and 
give  us  a greeting  that  does  not  want  for  warmth 
or  ceremony  and  we  go  with  them  in  their  swift 
boat  to  the  shore.  A dozen  jin-riki-sha  are  at  our 
service  and  we  dash  at  a great  pace  down  the  long, 
clean  streets,  across  a dozen  bridges,  past  the 
looming  castle,  then  through  a green  lane  between 
high  hedges,  and  a grass-covered  bank  to  our 
house.  There  is  a high  gate  with  roof  and 


156  Japanese  Life 

gate-house  and  a postern  for  daily  use:  to-day  the 
great  gates  are  unbarred  and  we  roll  in  to  the 
veranda,  where  we  leave  our  shoes  and,  going  in 
with  stockinged  feet,  are  refreshed  with  a tiny 
cup  of  tea. 

Then  we  inspect  the  house,  which  is  placed  at 
our  disposal  for  a few  weeks, — the  mansion  of  a 
samurai  of  wealth  who  is  residing  out  of  town. 
It  is  a rambling  old  house,  one-story  for  the 
greater  part,  with  thick  brown  thatched  roof  de- 
scending in  sweeping  curves  over  the  polished 
veranda  that  runs  almost  around  the  house. 
Most  of  the  walls  in  the  daytime  are  paper,  and, 
sliding  back,  make  the  house  a pavilion.  It  has 
numerous  rooms  with  unexpected  turns  and  angles 
and  queer-shaped  windows,  looking  from  room  to 
room.  In  the  rear  is  a two-story  addition  with 
very  artistic  rooms,  the  alcove,  shelves,  and 
drawers  curious  in  their  disposition  and  perfect  in 
their  workmanship;  with  windows  in  the  shape  of 
moon  and  stars  in  unexpected  places,  having  slides 
concealing  them,  which  give,  the  slides  pushed 
back,  pretty  glimpses  of  the  castle,  hills,  and  river. 
In  the  front  of  the  house  is  a large  room  arranged 
for  private  performances  of  the  ancient  sacred 
plays;  it  has  a finely  polished  hardwood  floor 
and  the  slides  which  separate  it  from  the  other 
rooms  are  made  of  wood,  painted  with  birds  and 
flowers  and  scenes  from  ancient  history. 

The  little  garden  is  neglected,  but  is  still  restful 
to  the  eye  and  so  laid  out  that  its  few  yards 


The  “Samurai”  in  New  Japan  157 

seclude  us  perfectly  from  the  quiet  lane.  The 
floors  of  the  house  (excepting  the  room  for  the 
plays)  are  covered  with  thick  white  mats,  some  of 
them  the  worse  for  wear.  There  is  no  furniture, 
not  a chair  or  bed  or  table,  just  the  walls  and 
floor.  Each  room  has  an  alcove  at  one  end  with 
a novel  arrangement  of  shelves ; in  the  alcove 
hangs  a picture  and  on  the  shelves  is  a vase  or  a 
piece  of  bronze.  The  house  needs  little  decora- 
tion, for  its  whole  construction  has  been  carefully 
studied  and  the  desired  effect  is  perfectly  attained. 
It  is  not  in  the  least  splendid,  and  it  cannot  be 
compared  with  the  beautiful  homes  of  England 
or  the  villas  of  America,  for  the  whole  con- 
ception is  different,  and  if  so  elaborate  an  effect 
is  not  obtained,  yet  the  desired  end  is  perfectly 
reached. 

We  sleep  upon  the  floor  and  wake  only  when 
the  sun  is  high  above  the  eastern  hills.  A red- 
cheeked  maid  brings  in  a brasier  full  of  charcoal, 
and  we  imagine  a rise  in  the  temperature.  Next 
she  brings  a tiny  pot  of  tea,  with  tinier  cups,  and 
goes  away  to  prepare  the  bath  in  the  lavatory  on 
the  veranda  by  the  garden.  After  our  bath  we 
find  the  room  swept,  the  bedding  put  away,  and 
breakfast  ready.  A fresh  supply  of  charcoal  is  in 
the  brasier  and  the  steaming  kettle  is  ready  for 
the  second  cup  of  tea.  We  each  have  a tray  four 
inches  high  with  rice  and  fish  and  a peculiar  soup 
in  dishes  of  porcelain  and  lacquer;  and  after 
breakfast  loose-skinned  oranges. 


158  Japanese  Life 

A Japanese  house  charms  us  by  its  simplicity, 
but  it  is  a studied  simplicity,  the  thought  which 
is  expended  upon  it  sometimes  being  almost  in- 
credible; the  matching  of  the  timbers  in  colour 
and  in  grain,  the  peculiar  pieces  of  wood  which 
compose  the  ceiling,  the  style  of  decoration  for 
slides  and  walls, — all  these  are  the  result  of  study, 
and  the  effect  which  charms  us  is  the  outcome  of 
even  centuries  of  development. 

The  houses  have  their  great  defects — at  night 
the  verandas  are  enclosed  with  wooden  slides, 
there  is  no  ventilation,  and  the  atmosphere  be- 
comes almost  unendurable.  There  is  no  cellar, 
and  the  floors,  covered  with  thick  mats,  even  in 
the  good  houses  are  of  the  slightest  possible  con- 
struction, admitting  easily  the  poisonous  exhala- 
tions of  the  ground:  the  construction  being  of 
wood,  the  danger  of  fire  is  constant.  But  for  sim- 
plicity of  living,  for  a house  which  meets  not  only 
the  necessities  of  life  but  which  gratifies  the  ar- 
tistic sense  at  the  smallest  expenditure  of  labour, 
nothing  can  excel  them.  In  the  comparison  our 
own  homes  come  to  seem  crowded,  filled  with 
articles  not  only  unnecessary  but  obtrusive,  and 
the  immense  expense  of  modern  life  appears  to 
be,  not  the  result  of  enlightened  civilisation,  but 
to  be  in  defiance  of  intelligence. 

Japanese  politeness  permits  early  calls,  and  our 
guests  come  before  we  have  finished  breakfast. 
One  proposes  to  show  us  the  lions  of  the  town,  and 
the  second  has  come  to  ask  us  to  drink  tea  with 


The  “Samurai”  in  New  Japan  159 

him  at  a later  hour.  We  accept  both  invitations 
and  start  at  once  upon  our  stroll. 

The  town  has  nothing  splendid  or  imposing  to 
show,  but  is  monotonous,  with  its  narrow  streets 
bordered  by  tiny  wooden  shops,  and  the  houses 
of  the  better  class  are  hidden  carefully  away  be- 
hind high  fences  or  are  in  the  rear  of  the  shops. 
All  go  in  the  middle  of  the  street — men  and  women 
about  their  business,  children  at  their  play,  and 
short,  stubby  ponies  shod  with  straw  and  laden 
with  country  products.  Crossing  canals  we  come 
at  last  to  the  river,  where  there  are  boats  of  many 
shapes  and  kinds;  pleasure-boats  with  pretty  cab- 
ins and  brown  roofs,  fishing-boats  with  gigantic 
umbrellas  instead  of  sails,  and  junks  with  high, 
curved  poops.  We  stop  at  the  plain  Liberal  Club, 
and  inspect  its  room  for  meetings,  its  fencing 
hall,  and  its  printing-office,  the  chief  reminder  of  the 
new  Japan.  Then  we  cross  the  market,  where  fish 
and  fruit  and  vegetables  are  sold  with  loud  voices 
and  gesticulations,  and  we  stop  at  the  great  tea 
house  where  is  a room  in  which  leading  men  of 
the  various  guilds  meet  to  eat  dinners  and  discuss 
their  plans.  Leaving  town  we  cross  a long 
wooden  bridge,  pass  a ruined  shrine,  and  climb  a 
pretty  hill  that  overlooks  the  town  and  bay. 
Here  we  linger  long,  the  December  sun  filling  the 
soft  air  with  genial  warmth;  we  take  jin-riki-sha 
back  through  the  long  street  to  the  house  where 
we  are  to  have  our  tea  and  where  our  friend  takes 
his  leave. 


i6o  Japanese  Life 

A servant  admits  us  to  a stone-paved  court 
where  the  son  of  our  host  greets  us  and  we  go 
with  him  through  a little  gate  into  the  garden. 
It  has  a pine,  old,  gnarled,  and  outspreading,  a 
tiny  pond,  hills  and  winding  walks,  a little  bridge, 
a shrine,  forming  a landscape  in  miniature.  Our 
host  greets  us  and  takes  us  to  his  “ tea-room.’ * 
No  words  can  do  it  justice,  for  this  strange- 
looking  old  man  in  plain  clothes  is  aesthetic,  and 
the  Japanese  can  easily  outdo  his  most  ambitious 
brothers  of  the  West.  The  tea-room  opens  to  the 
garden,  and  its  exposure  is  carefully  adjusted  to 
the  view,  everything  common  or  unclean  being 
hidden  from  our  eyes.  The  ceiling  is  of  well- 
matched  bark,  the  house  tree  is  an  old  gnarled 
post,  the  queer-shaped  polished  shelves  rest  on 
posts  of  brown  bamboo,  each  board  and  stick 
chosen  for  its  place.  The  only  ornaments  are  a 
sentence  of  poetry  plainly  mounted  and  hung 
across  the  wall  and  a camellia  in  a vase.  An  iron 
kettle  hangs  from  a bamboo  crane,  and  the  ashes 
in  the  fire-box  have  been  curiously  heaped  and 
delicately  pressed  in  figures.  When  we  are  seated 
the  servant  places  the  utensils  for  the  tea  at  his 
master’s  side — each  article  a treasure,  the  lac- 
quered caddy  for  the  tea,  the  porcelain  jar  full 
of  cold  water,  the  bamboo  brush  or  beater,  and 
a large  earthen  cup,  hideous  in  our  eyes,  but 
precious  to  a man  of  taste. 

We  are  to  drink  “ true  tea,”  and  ever  since  the 
days  of  the  luxurious  Shogun , Asliikaga  Yoshi- 


A STUBBY  PONY  SHOD  WITH  STRAW  AND  LADEN  WITH  COUNTRY  PRODUCTS. 


The  “Samurai”  in  New  Japan  161 

masa,  its  preparation  has  followed  in  detail  the 
strictest  rules.  But  to-day  we  have  the  function 
in  its  simplest  form,  with  some  relaxation  of  its 
severity  in  consideration  of  our  foreign  weakness. 
A silken  napkin  is  taken  from  the  girdle  and  each 
immaculate  implement  is  wiped  again;  every  mo- 
tion of  the  hand,  the  very  expression  of  the  face 
follows  precedent:  a mite  of  tea  is  put  into  the 
cup  and,  after  cooling,  a little  water  is  poured  on 
the  tea,  then  with  the  bamboo  brush  it  is  beaten  to 
a foam  and  handed  to  the  most  honoured  guest, 
who  receives  it,  lifts  it  to  his  forehead,  looks  his 
admiration  of  the  cup,  and  then  drinks  off  the 
draught.  Turning  the  cup  part  way  around  he 
wipes  it  off  and  hands  it  to  the  host  again,  for  the 
guest’s  part,  like  the  host’s,  is  according  to  strict 
rule.  Again  the  cup  is  cleansed  and  the  same 
ceremony  is  repeated  for  the  second  guest,  and 
then  the  guests  beseech  the  host  to  prepare  a cup 
for  himself  and  when  he  drinks  his  tea  the  func- 
tion is  complete. 

In  Tokyo  there  are  professionals  who  gain  their 
livelihood  by  this  art.  At  tea  houses  and  clubs 
they  act  the  part  of  host  for  pay,  and  go  to  private 
families  to  instruct  in  the  ceremonial.  The  room 
itself  must  be  constructed  especially  and  the  gar- 
den must  conform  to  rules  that  leave  nothing  to 
chance  or  individual  taste.  There  are  various 
schools  that  differ  somewhat  in  details,  but  the 
main  features  are  the  same  in  all.  When  the  full 
ceremony  is  performed  an  elaborate  feast  comes 

II 


162 


Japanese  Life 

first,  then  the  guests  solemnly  retire  into  the 
garden  and  take  their  seats  in  a prescribed  place 
while  the  room  is  rearranged  for  the  making  of 
the  tea.  While  they  wait  they  may  compose  a 
verse.  When  the  gong  sounds  they  solemnly  file 
in  again  to  the  same  room  they  have  left;  the  feast 
has  been  cleared  away,  the  ornaments  have  been 
changed,  and  the  water  in  the  kettle  is  just  ready 
to  boil.  After  the  host  has  drunk  his  tea  the 
utensils  are  examined  and  each  one  praised  in 
turn,  and  the  festivity  concludes  with  the  exhi- 
bition of  some  artistic  treasures.  It  takes  three 
hours  or  more  in  its  most  elaborate  form  and  few 
foreigners  are  bold  enough  to  undertake  it. 

This  first  day  we  had  only  the  simplest  cere- 
mony, and  after  our  tea  the  wife  of  our  host  en- 
tered with  the  dinner  on  tiny  trays  and  served  us 
while  we  ate.  After  dinner  poetry  was  proposed 
and  long  rolls  of  paper  with  ink  and  brushes  were 
produced.  The  Japanese  showed  his  skill  by 
writing  with  his  left  hand  in  highly  ornamental 
characters  a verse  of  poetry;  the  papers  are  given 
to  us  as  a memento,  and  we  take  our  leave,  the 
family  accompanying  us  to  the  outer  gate. 

Our  way  takes  us  by  the  castle  with  its  park — 
it  is  now  the  public  garden  of  the  town,  the  moat 
shrunk  to  half  its  former  size,  the  walls  in  decay, 
but  their  grimness  relieved  by  trees  and  moss. 
The  arrow  tower  which  rises  above  the  rest — and 
in  time  of  siege  the  last  resort — is  frequented  for 
the  pretty  view  of  town,  bay,  and  hills. 


The  “Samurai”  in  New  Japan  163 

In  the  evening  we  have  calls  with  many  cups 
of  tea,  and  smoke,  and  never-ending  talk.  We 
form  plans  for  weeks  to  come  for  walks  and  rides 
and  dinners,  for  to  the  samurai  leisure  is  un- 
limited, and  they  are  of  untiring  courtesy. 

One  day  we  visited  a breeder  of  rare  fowls — his 
family  had  cultivated  the  curious  breed  for  one 
hundred  years  with  incalculable  labour  and  as- 
tonishing results.  The  cocks  do  not  moult  their 
tail  feathers,  which  grow  steadily  from  year  to 
year.  One  cock  had  a train  six  yards  long,  and 
its  proud  owner  had  shown  him  to  the  Kmperor. 
So  far  as  we  could  learn  there  was  no  gain  sought, 
but  only  the  pleasure  that  comes  from  ownership. 
The  ancestors  of  the  fowls  came  from  China  a 
hundred  years  ago,  and  the  owner  boasts  that  now 
in  Japan  none  are  pure  except  his  own,  so  this 
samurai  devotes  his  life  to  these  long  tails. 

There  are  collectors  of  old  coins,  who  possess 
treasures  as  old  as  David’s  time.  One  of  these 
gentlemen  had  a pleasant  house,  facing  a charm- 
ing garden.  As  we  remarked  upon  its  pleasures 
he  replied,  “You  observe,  of  course,  that  its  style 
is  composite,  with  philosophic  and  Buddhist  mo- 
tives mingled.”  So  skilfully  had  the  situation 
been  improved  that  the  garden  line  faded  away  to 
the  distant  mountains.  “ Yes,”  he  said,  “ I an- 
nexed the  mountain.”  Gardening  is  an  art 
studied  as  carefully  as  lacquer  work  or  painting, 
for  it,  too,  has  its  various  schools  and  styles  with 
its  differing  themes  and  corresponding  treatment. 


164 


Japanese  Life 

In  many  cases  it  seems  to  us  the  height  of  arti- 
ficiality, there  is  so  much  that  is  conventional  in 
the  development  of  its  themes,  but  admiration 
comes  with  study,  and  finally  the  amateur  declares 
that  in  its  highest  forms  it  is  not  surpassed,  per- 
haps not  equalled,  elsewhere.  The  highest  Eng- 
lish authority,  Mr.  Conder,  tells  us  that  this  art, 
like  all  the  ornamental  arts,  originated  in  China, 
but  in  its  present  form  dates  from  the  time  of  the 
same  Shogun  who  devoted  himself  to  the  tea 
ceremonial;  and  that  it  has  had  an  independent 
development  since  its  introduction.  “ No  art 
in  Japan  has  been  followed  with  greater  fidelity 
to  nature  than  landscape  gardening  . . . the 

garden  is  regarded  as  a poem  or  a picture,  in- 
tended to  arouse  particular  association  and  inspire 
some  worthy  sentiment.  Sometimes  the  sugges- 
tion of  some  natural  scene  of  mountains,  or  forest, 
or  river  may  be  intended;  sometimes  a purely 
abstract  sentiment  is  to  be  conveyed,  such  as  the 
idea  of  patient  retirement  from  the  world,  medita- 
tion, or  ambition;  if,  for  example,  a garden  be  de- 
signed for  a poet  or  for  a philosopher,  its  general 
description  should  express  dignified  seclusion, 
solitude,  virtue,  or  self-abnegation.  The  habit 
of  regarding  a garden  as  an  ornamental  append- 
age to  a building  and  constructing  it  with  a view 
to  possessing  rare  collections  of  plants  and  stones 
and  making  a display  of  wealth  is  much  con- 
demned by  Japanese  writers  as  leading  invariably 
to  an  effect  of  vulgarity.  Gardening,  it  is  stated, 


The  “ Samurai  ” in  New  Japan  165 

should  be  undertaken  from  a genuine  love  of  na- 
ture and  with  a desire  of  enjoying  the  beauties  of 
natural  scenery.  There  should  be  pleasant  re- 
treats for  hours  of  leisure  and  idleness  and,  as  one 
writer  has  poetically  expressed  it,  ‘ places  to  stroll 
in  when  aroused  from  sleep.’  ” When,  however, 
these  beauties  in  their  variety  are  expressed  in 
the  space  of  a few  square  feet,  the  imagination 
becomes  fatigued  and  one  would  as  soon  think 
of  strolling  in  a child’s  toy  village  “ when 
aroused  from  sleep.”  But  in  the  great  gardens 
of  the  rich,  the  effect  is  all  that  Mr.  Conder  can 
suggest. 

The  love  of  nature  that  so  distinguishes  the 
people  suggests  charming  and  elevating  pleasures. 
As  spring  comes  on,  picnic  parties  go  to  the  gar- 
dens devoted  to  the  plum  and  cherry,  for  the 
flowering  trees  and  choice  plants  have  special 
gardens  devoted  to  them,  the  plum,  the  cherry, 
the  wistaria,  the  iris,  the  azalea,  the  peony,  and 
the  chrysanthemum,  and  their  flowering  makes 
successive  fetes.  When  the  cherry  is  in  bloom, 
the  whole  city  goes  out  to  enjoy  the  spectacle. 
We  select  a pleasant  day  in  the  early  spring 
and  start  off  with  a company  of  our  friends. 
A pleasant  walk  across  the  fields  and  through 
shady  lanes  brings  us  to  the  garden;  it  has  walks 
and  hills  with  a little  lake  and  a winding  stream. 
We  sit  in  an  arbour  and  sip  our  tea  and  smoke, 
and  in  good  time  dinner  is  served.  If  we  are 
genuine  Japanese,  we  compose  a verse.  Finally, 


1 66  Japanese  Life 

in  the  same  leisurely  fashion  we  go  home,  satisfied 
but  not  fatigued. 

Sometimes  we  take  longer  tramps  through  the 
woods  and  up  the  mountains,  that  we  may  enjoy 
the  splendid  scenery  in  its  glory  and  not  in  min- 
iature. In  frequented  parts  of  the  country  we 
are  sure  to  find  a tea  house  with  its  refreshments, 
just  where  we  wish  to  stop  and  feast  our  eyes 
upon  the  scene,  for  this  is  the  choicest  of  all  lands 
for  inexpensive  jaunts  and  journeyings.  With 
little  packs  upon  their  backs  our  young  friends  go 
off  to  see  the  world:  students  make  long  and  in- 
expensive tours,  visiting  famous  places,  and  there 
is  an  immense  moving  from  place  to  place,  the 
public  roads  being  thronged  and  all  like  a pro- 
longed picnic.  Even  the  coolies  who  go  along  to 
bear  the  burdens  find  a pleasure  in  their  work, 
and  the  chief  maxim  is,  Never  be  in  a hurry,  no 
matter  how  many  days  are  spent  upon  the  road. 

In  the  old  days  when  the  samurai  went  with 
their  lords  to  Yedo,  the  longer  the  time  upon  the 
way  the  happier  the  progress.  There  were  innu- 
merable cups  of  tea  and  pipes  of  tobacco  and  early 
stops  and  late  starts.  The  journey  counted  as 
part  time  of  the  hated  stay  in  Yedo.  If  they  went 
part  way  by  sea  and  the  winds  were  dead  ahead, 
so  much  the  better,  for  the  longest  and  slowest 
journey,  with  the  most  delays,  was  most  highly 
prized.  Enough  of  this  spirit  still  remains  to 
provoke  or  please  the  foreigner  according  to  his 
mood. 


The  ‘‘Samurai”  in  New  Japan  167 


One  day  we  went  a-fishing — not  wading  in  the 
forest  but  sitting  quietly  on  cushions  in  a slow- 
moving  boat,  with  tea  and  pipes  and  fans,  while 
the  fisherman  in  the  bow  amused  us  by  his  skill 
in  throwing  the  net  and  capturing  the  finny  tribe. 

Our  great  apartment  was  put  in  requisition  for 
a play;  the  actors  were  semi-professional,  and  the 
performance  lasted  all  the  afternoon.  The  theme 
was  mythological  and  it  belonged  to  the  style  of 
drama  called  No.  Only  the  specially  educated 
enjoy  it,  and  its  patrons  are  scholars  and  men  of 
rank.  It  is  strictly  legitimate  and  severely  simple, 
like  all  Japanese  high  art,  and  there  is  a great 
deal  of  solemn  posturing  to  discordant  music 
which  is  too  Oriental  for  our  taste.  The  postur- 
ing of  the  miscalled  dancing  girls  is  a poetry  of 
motion  too  difficult  for  our  eyes  to  unravel,  for  its 
meaning  is  more  obscure  than  the  verses  even  of 
the  archaic  Shinto  poets.  Sometimes  we  can 
detect  a meaning,  as  of  the  falling  of  autumn 
leaves,  but  usually  the  movement  is  too  slow  and 
repetitious  and  conventional  for  uneducated  and 
foreign  eyes.  Sometimes  the  dance  becomes  an 
orgy,  but  this  is  never  associated  with  the  No , but 
is  reserved  for  after-dinner  debauchery.  As  the 
posturing  is  too  difficult  for  the  dull  foreign  eye, 
so  is  the  music  for  the  dull  foreign  ear.  To  us  it 
is  like  a crash  of  inharmonious  sounds,  out  of 
tune  and  key;  sometimes  the  solo  work  is  intel- 
ligible, but  the  full  orchestra,  except  in  occasional 
passages,  rends  our  ears.  So  far  as  we  can  judge, 


1 68 


Japanese  Life 

the  effort  is  to  reproduce  the  sounds  of  nature,  and 
Confucius  highly  esteemed  it,  holding  it  a mighty 
means  for  government,  but  only  now  and  then  do 
the  forms  take  such  shape  that  we  can  dimly  dis- 
cern them  or  briefly  enjoy  them. 

The  solemnity  of  the  No — which  our  Japan- 
ese friends  followed  seriously  with  book,  taking  it 
as  earnestly  as  the  student  does  his  Wagner  opera 
— is  relieved  by  a farce  full  of  humour  and  excel- 
lently acted.  It  serves  as  a relaxation,  and  is  in 
striking  contrast  to  the  masks  and  antique  mag- 
nificence and  elaborate  phrasing  and  posturing  of 
the  No. 

To  visit  the  theatre  is  not  good  form  for 
the  samurai , but  is  the  amusement  of  the  lower 
classes.  In  this  province  in  the  old  days  it  was 
forbidden  altogether.  The  play  lasted  all  day, 
the  actors  were  men  of  very  low  repute,  and  the 
acting  often  obscene  and  coarse.  The  bad  esteem 
in  which  they  were  held  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
the  auxiliary  numerals  used  in  counting  them 
were  those  used  not  for  men  but  for  beasts. 

But  Japanese  sports  are  not  all  of  this  easy- 
going nature.  Invitations  to  hunting  parties  are 
declined,  although  we  afterwards  received  the 
spoils.  Japanese  gentlemen  go  far  away  to  the 
mountains  in  pursuit  of  game,  for  Buddhism  has 
not  succeeded  in  teaching  this  martial  race  of  men 
to  give  up  the  soldier’s  sport,  and  the  Japanese 
samurai , though  accomplished  in  art  and  letters, 
are  still  more  expert  with  sword  and  spear  and 


A FARCE  BEFORE  THE  WIFE  OF  THE  SHOGUN. 


The  “Samurai”  in  New  Japan  169 

bow.  In  the  fencing  halls  men  well  protected  on 
head  and  body  fence  furiously,  using  two-handed 
bamboo  foils  with  which  they  strike  but  never 
thrust.  The  match  begins  with  bows  to  the  floor 
and  closes  in  like  manner,  with  apologies  for 
harsh  treatment.  Sometimes  the  duel  becomes  a 
battle  with  a score  of  men  on  either  side. 

One  day  we  had  an  exhibition  with  the  sword 
that  illustrated  a chief  phase  of  samurai  life  in  the 
old  days.  The  most  famous  swordsman  of  this 
very  warlike  clan  came  to  our  house  and  for  half 
an  hour  showed  us  how  in  every  position  he  could 
draw  his  sword  and  kill  his  adversary.  Bowing 
until  his  head  touched  the  floor,  he  could  cut 
down  his  enemy  before  he  raised  his  head  from 
the  profound  obeisance  which  neither  would  omit. 
The  stealthy  attack  from  behind  and  sudden  two- 
to-one  attack  in  front  were  alike  anticipated  and 
foiled;  alone  in  a crowd,  in  the  street,  or  in  his 
home  he  must  be  ready,  for  his  life  depended  upon 
making  no  mistake.  Our  swordsman  was  the 
most  unoffensive  and  kindly  of  men,  but  as  he 
took  his  place  and  began  the  practice  of  his  art, 
a strange,  hard  expression  passed  upon  his  face 
and  it  did  not  seem  mere  play. 

Assassination  with  the  sword  was  a fine  art  in 
Japan,  sometimes  for  reason  of  State  or  politics, 
sometimes  for  private  revenge;  for  revenge  was 
legalised — a sacred  duty,  and  he  who  neglected  it 
was  despised,  so  sons  avenged  their  fathers  and 
soldiers  their  lords,  and  even  women  took  up  the 


170 


Japanese  Life 

feud.  Certain  formalities  having  been  observed, 
the  duty  could  be  fulfilled  at  any  time  or  place — 
the  method  was  not  of  consequence:  the  enemy 
might  be  surprised  and  cut  down  at  sight,  struck 
at  from  behind,  or  overpowered — every  plan  was 
legitimate  that  secured  the  end.  Sometimes  it 
was  a fair  duel  between  men  of  equal  skill,  but 
such  fair  play  was  not  essential,  as  no  one  asks 
fair  play  for  a condemned  criminal.  But,  with 
one  killing,  the  feud  was  at  an  end.  The  ability 
to  draw  the  sword  and  cut  down  a man  at  sight 
was  the  equivalent  of  ‘ ‘ getting  the  drop  upon  a 
man”  in  the  lawless  society  of  the  Far  West  a few 
years  ago  in  the  United  States.  In  Japan  this 
was  not  the  passing  phase  of  a rude  state  of  so- 
ciety, but  the  legalised  custom  of  centuries,  so, 
of  course,  there  were  many  skilful  swordsmen. 
Nowhere  has  the  cult  of  the  sword  been  carried  to 
a completer  development ; if  it  be  drawn  in  wrath 
it  can  be  returned  to  the  scabbard  only  when 
stained  with  blood.  In  a duel  both  contestants 
lost  their  lives,  the  victor  committing  suicide,  and 
the  seconds  also  taking  their  lives,  yet  men  fought 
duels — sometimes  with  seconds. 

The  soldier’s  spirit  was  fostered  in  the  schools 
for  the  samurai.  In  the  famous  school  in  Aidzu 
the  boys  began  the  day  with  the  worship  of  Confu- 
cius, and  his  philosophy  occupied  their  thoughts 
for  years.  They  learned  to  ride  and  fight  and 
shoot.  They  left  their  homes  at  an  early  age, 
thenceforth  the  feudal  lord  being  in  place  of 


The  “ Samurai”  in  New  Japan  1 71 

father.  They  were  divided  into  groups,  and  their 
natural  rivalry  was  fostered  into  enmity,  so  that 
they  fought  furiously  among  themselves,  but,  like 
their  seniors,  always  according  to  strict  rule. 
Some  clans  lost  this  martial  spirit  during  the  cen- 
turies of  peace,  but  Aidzu  proved  the  most  stub- 
born of  the  Tokugawa  followers,  and  when  at  last 
it  yielded  to  the  southern  clans,  some  of  the  wives 
and  mothers,  following  the  traditions  of  the  past, 
killed  their  infants  and  slew  themselves,  for  they 
would  not  survive  the  defeat  of  their  fathers, 
brothers,  and  husbands. 

Besides  fencing  there  was  archery,  but  we  saw 
little  of  this,  as  it  has  gone  almost  wholly  out  of 
fashion.  One  day,  however,  some  mounted  arch- 
ers shot  at  successive  targets,  their  horses  on  the 
run,  with  just  space  enough  between  the  targets 
for  the  arrow  to  be  put  in  place  if  the  hand 
were  true  and  no  mistake  were  made.  The  old 
men  were  skilful  and  easily  surpassed  their 
youthful  competitors,  for  it  had  once  been  part 
of  the  work  of  life,  while  now  it  is  only  an 
exciting  play. 

In  earlier  times  the  feats  of  skill  and  endurance 
were  extraordinary.  In  Kyoto  is  a temple  with  a 
veranda  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  yards  long 
and  sixteen  feet  to  the  roof.  An  archer  has  sent 
more  than  eight  thousand  arrows  down  its  length 
in  twenty-four  hours.  And  in  Tokyo,  on  a ver- 
anda of  the  same  dimensions,  in  twenty  consecu- 
tive hours  an  archer  discharged  more  than  ten 


1 72 


Japanese  Life 

thousand  arrows,  half  of  which  traversed  the  dis- 
tance without  hitting  the  roof.  The  roof  is  full 
of  arrows,  the  memorials  of  failures  innumerable. 

The  prettiest  game  was  polo.  In  the  spring  the 
samurai  played  every  day  for  a week  or  more  in 
a grassy  lane  by  the  river  side.  There  was  a 
high  bank  that  answered  for  the  grand  stand, 
where  were  banners,  and  booths  and  cushions, 
with  refreshments  for  the  hungry  lookers-on. 
The  people  began  to  gather  in  the  early  morning 
and  picnicked  all  day,  during  the  morning  stroll- 
ing along  the  river  or  chatting  at  their  ease.  At 
one  o’clock  the  game  began.  Twenty  horsemen 
gathered  at  the  far  end  of  the  narrow  lane  and  at 
our  end  were  both  goals.  Kach  rider  has  a ball, 
ten  reds  and  ten  whites,  and  each  is  to  throw  his 
opponent’s  ball  through  the  goal,  preventing  him 
meanwhile  from  returning  the  compliment.  At 
the  signal  twenty  balls  are  thrown  down  the  lane 
and  twenty  riders  follow  at  full  speed.  With  long 
bamboo  sticks,  with  dainty  nets  fastened  at  the 
ends,  they  pick  up  and  throw  the  balls,  each  seek- 
ing to  send  his  opponent’s  ball  on  toward  the  goal 
and  his  own  back  toward  the  starting-point.  The 
contest  grows  intense  as  the  balls  grow  less,  the 
crowds  applauding  and  urging  on  the  combatants. 
Riders  are  unmounted,  there  are  sharp  encounters 
of  men  and  horses — finally  some  especially  bril- 
liant horsemanship  or  long,  skilful  throw  gives  the 
victory.  The  victors  ride  back  to  the  head  of  the 
lane,  shouting  and  swinging  their  clubs;  the  van- 


The  “Samurai”  in  New  Japan  173 

quished  walk  slowly  back,  leading  their  horses 
in  their  humility.  With  changes  of  players  the 
game  continues  all  the  afternoon. 

One  sees  little  of  the  wives  and  women  of  the 
families.  At  an  elaborate  dinner  party  given  by 
the  leading  samurai  of  the  province,  his  little 
daughter,  ten  years  old,  was  present  and  sat  in 
the  middle  of  the  room,  never  stirring  during  the 
long  feast  save  to  give  orders  by  a slight  motion. 
She  formed  the  most  charming  part  of  a beauti- 
fully constructed  picture,  but  the  wife  of  our 
host  and  his  older  daughters  did  not  appear. 
After  I had  been  repeatedly  to  the  house  of  a 
friend,  at  last,  with  apologies,  he  introduced  his 
wife  as  one  might  venture  to  present  a higher  serv- 
ant. The  marriages  are  arranged  in  infancy.  A 
modern  samurai , educated  abroad,  objected  to  the 
early  betrothal  of  his  son,  but  his  wife  insisted, 
saying,  “ If  you  wait,  all  the  girls  of  his  age  and 
rank  will  be  engaged,  and  then  what  shall  he  do  ? ” 
It  was  unreasonable,  he  said  to  me,  but  inevitable, 
and  he  followed  his  wife’s  advice.  There  are 
stories  told  of  unreasonable  men  who  divorce 
many  wives — one  as  many  as  ten  before  he  could 
suit  his  unduly  fastidious  taste,  for  marriage  has 
never  taken  the  place  it  has  attained  with  us;  it 
is  far  too  one-sided,  with  the  obligations  on  the 
weaker  side.  The  wife  waits  on  her  husband  and 
never  eats  with  him;  she  is  as  a servant  in  his 
eyes,  and  he  treats  her  on  the  same  terms  and  with 
the  same  language  as  his  other  servants.  She 


174 


Japanese  Life 

stays  close  at  home,  knows  nothing  of  the  world, 
does  not  participate  in  the  thoughts  and  plans  of 
her  husband,  nor  dream  of  equality.  Doubtless 
her  position  is  better  than  the  position  of  wives  in 
many  Eastern  lands,  and  there  are  often  mutual 
love  and  respect  and  happy  life  at  home,  but  the 
closer  the  inspection  of  the  Eastern  home  the  less 
it  seems  to  satisfy  the  ideals  we  have  been  taught 
to  form. 

Eife  in  remote  Japan  is  quiet,  narrow,  and 
yet  does  not  lack  for  interest,  as  we  have  seen. 
There  are  books,  manly  sports,  aesthetic  enjoy- 
ment, and  the  pleasure  that  comes  from  rank  and 
power;  it  is  calm  and  leisurely,  without  hurry  or 
ambition.  The  young  men  are  full  of  life  and 
spirit,  the  elders  are  mildly  blasS.  Men  who  have 
hardly  reached  middle  life  are  ready  to  withdraw, 
hand  their  estates  and  honours  to  their  sons,  and, 
as  one  said  to  me,  ‘ ‘ go  a-fishing  for  the  remainder 
of  their  days.”  From  Emperor  to  shopkeeper, 
it  has  been  the -fashion  to  abdicate.  The  pride  of 
possession  is  not  great,  as  with  us,  and  resignation 
for  them  is  an  easier  virtue;  so  they  make  sacri- 
fices without  a thought,  which  we  should  think 
well-nigh  impossible.  Their  feelings  are  intense 
but  not  deep;  there  is  a serene  unconsciousness  of 
self,  for  personality  is  not  supreme,  and  they  feel 
themselves  to  be  parts  of  the  universe,  not  its 
centre.  They  are  schooled  to  dignified  repression 
of  emotion,  yet  are  fervent  admirers  of  strength  of 
any  sort;  they  are  hero-worshippers,  and  as  long 


The  “Samurai”  in  New  Japan  175 

as  the  worship  lasts  are  self-sacrificing  followers 
of  their  demigod. 

In  the  new  era  the  samurai  are  oftentimes  in 
financial  difficulties:  a few  still  retain  hereditary- 
estates;  others  have  invested  the  bonds  they  re- 
ceived from  the  Government  fortunately;  some, 
again,  are  successful  in  business  enterprises,  and 
a very  large  number  are  in  the  employ  of  the 
Government.  Possibly  in  these  various  ways 
one- half  are  provided  for,  the  others  having  sunk 
down  into  the  masses  of  the  people,  retaining  only 
the  nominal  rank  of  their  family.  With  the 
change  in  their  position,  the  framework  of  society 
has  been  largely  destroyed,  and  with  it  the  old 
ethics  and  the  old  social  traditions,  leaving  little 
in  its  place.  The  older  men,  like  older  men  in 
most  lands,  lament  the  change,  feeling  that  the 
morality  of  the  nation  has  deteriorated  and  desir- 
ing strongly  a termination  of  the  moral  inter- 
regnum— their  problem  being  what  to  substitute. 

The  Japanese  of  the  modern  day  is  filled  with 
intellectual  curiosity.  We  never  lacked  for  sub- 
jects for  a talk; — my  old  friend,  the  collector  of 
ancient  coins,  with  the  little  garden  that  ‘ ‘ an- 
nexed the  mountain,”  would  talk  of  Old  Japan 
and  then  of  Darwin  and  Huxley  and  Mill  — the 
oldest  thought  of  ancient  Asia  mingled  constantly 
with  the  newest  thought  of  the  most  progressive 
West.  It  is  sometimes  said  that  the  Japanese  are 
not  frank  and  refuse  to  admit  foreigners  to  the 
secrets  of  their  lives;  but  night  after  night  we 


176  Japanese  Life 

spent  long  hours,  seated  upon  the  mats,  asking 
and  answering  questions,  they  seeking  informa- 
tion of  our  Western  lands,  and  I asking  them  in 
turn  whatever  I desired  to  know  of  their  customs, 
their  history,  their  purpose,  and  their  lives;  and 
never  anywhere  could  one  wish  to  meet  a group 
of  gentlemen  more  responsive  or  more  frank.  As 
one  remembers  his  own  experience  of  the  hospi- 
tality of  the  samurai  of  Japan,  of  their  welcome 
for  a stranger,  of  their  courtesy  through  weeks  of 
intercourse,  of  their  desire  to  minister  in  all  ways 
to  his  enj'oyment  and  his  instruction,  one  can  only 
feel  that  nowhere  are  there  men  more  worthy  of 
esteem  and  more  likely  to  win  our  affectionate 
regard. 

The  chief  amusement  in  a place  like  Kochi,  after 
all,  was  conversation  — the  intellectual  life  was 
keen  and  the  interest  great.  Twenty  years  ago 
every  foreigner  was  supposed  to  be  a mine  of 
information:  in  this  visit,  for  example,  we  were 
asked  questions  as  to  prison  reform,  the  proper 
basis  for  a national  currency,  the  best  method  for 
the  establishment  of  banks;  whether  it  would  be 
better  to  build  a railway  across  the  mountains  to 
the  inland  sea,  or  to  dig  out  the  harbour  and  widen 
its  entrance  so  that  it  might  be  easy  of  access  for 
sea-going  steamers;  whether,  on  the  whole,  for  a 
nation  in  the  situation  of  Japan,  a militia  would 
not  suffice  without  a standing  army;  as  to  the 
various  forms  of  constitutional  government,  Ger- 
manic, British,  and  American,  with  their  adapta- 


The  “Samurai”  in  New  Japan  177 

tions  to  Japanese  needs;  as  to  the  expediency  of 
opening  certain  mines  and  the  probability  of  profit 
from  them;  and,  with  all  these  practical  questions 
on  many  subjects,  problems  which  were  more  ab- 
struse,— the  origin  of  species  through  the  struggle 
for  existence;  the  comparison  of  European  and 
Chinese  idealistic  philosophy;  the  definitions  of 
time  and  space;  and  as  my  specialty,  the  pro- 
foundest  topics  of  theology  and  of  human  destiny, 
for  English  is  the  key  which  opens  the  door  to 
knowledge,  and  we,  possessing  the  key,  were  sup- 
posed to  possess  the  knowledge.  It  was  all  re- 
latively superficial,  of  course,  for  the  men,  as  has 
been  said,  were  in  the  position  of  a rustic,  untech- 
nical  but  intelligent,  on  his  visit  to  a World’s 
Fair.  First  of  all,  he  must  obtain  a slight  know- 
ledge of  much  before  he  could  expect  to  master 
anything  in  its  details.  It  is  characteristic  of  this 
stage  in  the  Japanese  intellectual  development 
that  students  desire  to  get  at  once  at  the  heart  of 
the  matter  and  are  impatient  of  beginnings.  If, 
for  example,  they  learn  that  Kant  or  Hegel  is  the 
great  authority  in  philosophy,  they  do  not  under- 
stand why  they  should  not  begin  with  the  greatest 
— omitting  introductory  and  lesser  works.  They 
would  even  carry  this  into  mathematics  and 
physics,  and  so  have  gained  for  themselves  among 
foreigners  a reputation  for  an  appearance  of 
knowledge  without  its  substance.  In  part  this 
was  only  a passing  phase,  for  the  Japanese  have 
shown  themselves  quite  competent  to  master  in 

12 


178 


Japanese  Life 

their  completeness  our  lines  of  study,  and  yet  it  is 
indicative,  in  part,  of  a certain  attitude  of  the  Jap- 
anese mind.  Study  for  them  is,  on  the  whole,  for 
the  exceptional  man,  and  courses  should  be  ar- 
ranged for  them — dullards  and  sluggards  drop- 
ping out  or  gaining  little,  as  is  natural. 

If  the  chief  amusement  was  talk,  the  chief  busi- 
ness was  politics.  The  samurai  still  control  the 
Government.  Tosa  early  broke  from  its  allies  in 
the  Three  Clan  League  and  entered  a path  of  its 
own  with  Mr.  (now  Count)  Itagaki  as  leader.  A 
liberal  league  was  formed,  half  secret,  throughout 
Japan,  and  its  head  was  our  host.  His  followers 
told  us  that  their  loyalty  to  him  was  because  of 
his  unselfish  devotion  to  principle,  and  he  de- 
scribed his  aims  as  seeking  the  development  of  the 
common  people  and  the  elevation  of  the  masses  to 
the  status  once  occupied  by  the  samurai  only.  He 
proposed  therefore  a parliament  on  the  plan  of 
England’s  with  a liberal  constitution  and  the  re- 
presentatives of  the  people  supreme.  The  party 
triumphed  in  part  in  the  Constitution  given  in 
1889,  but  twenty  years  ago  it  was  still  in  the 
midst  of  its  struggles.  Several  of  the  leading  men 
of  Kochi  had  been  already  imprisoned  by  the  Gov- 
ernment, and  at  a later  period,  1887,  were  impris- 
oned again  on  an  administrative  order.  So  that 
politics  was  associated  with  enough  of  danger  to 
make  it  highly  exciting,  for  they  never  knew 
when  home  might  be  exchanged  for  prison. 
Their  spirit  is  best  illustrated  by  their  course  at 


The  “Samurai”  in  New  Japan  179 

that  time.  When  my  dear  friend,  Mr.  Kataoka 
was  arrested  in  Tokyo  one  Sunday  night,  he  de- 
manded the  cause,  but  the  officers  refused  to  talk 
with  him.  The  next  morning  a higher  official 
came  to  the  prison  and  told  him  that  he  could 
leave  up  to  twelve  o’clock,  if  he  would  take  the 
train  to  Yokohama  and  the  steamer  that  afternoon 
for  Kochi  and  remain  there  in  his  own  home,  away 
from  the  capital  for  three  years;  otherwise,  he 
should  remain  in  prison  for  the  same  period.  But 
Mr.  Kataoka  told  the  officer  that  though  the  Gov- 
ernment with  its  power  could  keep  him  in  prison 
for  three  years  or  for  life,  no  power  could  force 
him,  seemingly  of  his  own  will,  to  cross  the  city 
and  go  from  the  capital  of  the  nation  as  if  he  were 
a criminal  when  he  had  committed  no  offence.  So 
he  remained  in  prison  until  twelve  o’clock,  when 
the  doors  were  closed  and  he  was  held  for  eighteen 
months. 

At  the  close  of  that  period,  on  the  giving  of  the 
Constitution  by  the  Emperor,  Mr.  Kataoka  and 
his  friends  were  pardoned  and  immediately  en- 
tered into  a fierce  political  contest  for  the  control 
of  the  first  Parliament.  Returning  to  Tosa  he 
was  offered  his  choice  of  the  districts,  three  of 
which  were  almost  certainly  liberal  and  the  fourth 
as  likely  conservative.  He  chose  the  conservative 
district,  saying  that  if  any  portion  of  his  own 
countrymen  would  not  send  him  to  Parliament,  he 
would  prefer  to  stay  at  home.  The  district  was 
Buddhist  in  its  faith,  and  Mr.  Kataoka  was  an 


i8o 


Japanese  Life 

elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church.  This  fact  was 
used  against  him  by  his  opponents,  and  he  was 
urged  by  his  party  leaders  to  give  up  his  office  in 
the  Church,  but  he  replied  that  if  he  must  choose 
between  the  Church  and  the  Parliament,  he  would 
take  the  Church.  It  is  worthy  of  mention  that 
Mr.  Kataoka’s  course  did  not  injure  his  political 
career;  indeed,  precisely  these  qualities  win  the 
Japanese  heart.  Until  his  death  he  represented 
his  district  in  the  parliament,  through  all  the  vi- 
cissitudes of  the  changing  political  situation,  and 
for  the  last  four  years  (until  December,  1903)  he 
was  the  speaker  of  the  lower  House. 

The  intense  political  feeling  manifested  itself  in 
violence.  The  Government  arrested  men  and  im- 
prisoned them  without  trial,  and  the  opposition 
responded  with  plots  and  riots.  Even  after  the 
Constitution  had  been  granted  and  the  Parliament 
elected,  the  Government  curtailed  liberty  of 
speech  and  printing,  and  was  charged  with  unfair 
attempts  at  controlling  elections.  Mobs  formed 
in  many  places,  and  the  unenfranchised  masses 
were  used,  by  all  parties,  to  coerce  the  electors. 
Eater,  bands  of  ruffians  were  formed  for  the  same 
purpose,  men  who  were  supposed  to  represent  the 
spirit  of  the  ancient  masterless  samurai , ready  for 
any  exploit,  and  not  loath  to  deeds  of  violence. 

All  this  proved  only  a passing  phase,  but  it 
was  followed  by  a still  more  sinister  development. 
The  Imperial  Diet  has  been  charged  repeatedly 
with  corruption,  its  members  being  accused  of 


The  “ Samurai  ” in  New  Japan  181 

selling  their  votes  and  their  influence.  The 
charges  are  doubtless  founded  upon  facts,  and 
the  condition  is  likely  to  be  permanent;  for  the 
members  are  underpaid,  and  they  are  drawn  for 
the  most  part  from  the  class  which  is  without 
financial  resources,  so  that  temptation  comes  with 
especial  power.  Nor  has  patriotism  yet  set  a 
standard  which  makes  the  bribe-taker  or  -giver 
a sinner  or  a traitor.  Yet  a public  opinion  is 
forming  which  condemns  this,  and  we  would  not 
imply  that  the  Japanese  are  sinners  above  others. 
Only,  in  this  as  in  other  things,  they  have  no 
monopoly  of  virtue,  but  with  constitutional  gov- 
ernment acquire  also  its  vices;  and  as  Arai  Haku- 
seki  shows  us,  official  corruption  is  not  a novelty, 
only  its  expression  through  the  representatives  of 
the  people  being  peculiar  to  the  present  time. 

The  ancient  disregard  of  life  continues;  and 
there  are  many  examples.  In  1891  a subordinate 
official  killed  himself  on  a temple  veranda  a short 
distance  from  my  house  in  Tokyo.  He  made  a 
statement  of  the  causes  leading  to  his  suicide:  For 
years  he  had  been  stationed  in  the  northern  island 
of  the  Empire  and  had  brooded  over  the  designs  of 
Russia.  As  a petty  officer  he  could  not  hope  to 
gain  the  ear  of  the  Government,  and  so  he  killed 
himself,  that  by  his  death  the  attention  of  the 
public  might  be  called  to  his  views. 

When  the  Prince  Imperial  of  Russia  was  at- 
tacked near  Kyoto  the  whole  Empire  was  moved 
by  the  outrage  upon  a guest  of  the  Emperor,  and 


182 


Japanese  Life 


a few  days  later  a woman  killed  herself  upon  the 
same  spot,  explaining  in  her  letter  that  she  was  a 
native  of  the  village  with  the  ruffian  who  had  at- 
tacked her  Emperor’s  guest  and  that  she  could 
not  survive  the  disgrace. 

In  1889  Viscount  Mori  was  killed  by  a Shinto 
fanatic.  The  assassin  was  not  a priest  nor  con- 
nected with  the  temples  where  the  alleged  offence 
had  been  committed,  nor  had  he  any  public  posi- 
tion, but  was  the  self-constituted  avenger  of  a 
slight  to  his  nation’s  gods.  Killed  at  once,  he  was 
made  a hero  by  the  Tokyo  populace,  not  because 
it  sympathised  with  his  views,  nor  because  it  was 
opposed  to  Viscount  Mori,  but  purely  because  it 
admired  the  courage  and  self-sacrifice  of  the  deed. 

Again,  Count  Okuma,  when  Minister  of  For- 
eign Affairs,  returning  from  the  office  to  his 
residence,  was  attacked  by  a samurai  who  threw 
a bomb  toward  his  carriage.  Fortunately,  the 
Count  only  lost  his  leg  and  not  his  life,  but  the 
would-be  murderer  killed  himself  before  he  could 
be  arrested.  That  night  I chanced  to  be  in  vari- 
ous places  of  resort  where  samurai  assembled, 
and  from  all  I heard  only  expressions  of  admira- 
tion for  the  deed,  the  daring  of  it,  and  the  readi- 
ness with  which  the  assassin  took  his  own  life. 

The  Chinese  philosophy  has  taught  men  that 
only  worthy  rulers  have  a divine  right  to  govern, 
and  it  has  further  taught  the  lower  officers  that  on 
them  depends  the  honour  of  their  native  land. 
Hence  the  saviurai  have  esteemed  themselves  re- 


The  “ Samurai”  in  New  Japan  183 

sponsible  for  the  policy  of  the  Government,  for 
the  conduct  of  national  affairs,  and  for  the  deeds 
of  statesmen.  We  in  our  Western  fashion  leave 
reforms  to  the  officers  of  the  State,  or  through  great 
popular  movements  we  seek  to  bring  about  a 
change,  and  we  do  not  imagine  that  to  each  one  of 
us  there  has  been  committed  a personal  responsi- 
bility which  we  must  discharge  at  the  cost  of  our 
own  lives.  In  these  things  the  intelligent  man  of 
good  position  in  the  United  States  is  at  furthest 
remove  from  his  compeer  in  Japan. 


CHAPTER  XII 


the  common  people  : farmers,  artisans, 

AND  ARTISTS 

HE  life  of  the  common  people  is  much  like 


the  life  of  the  peasantry  in  other  lands. 
Next  to  the  samurai  ranked  the  farmers,  and  some 
of  these  men  were  rich  and  lived  in  abundance  and 
even  in  luxury.  I remember  the  farmhouse  of 
the  older  brother  of  a friend,  standing  far  removed 
from  the  public  road,  an  avenue  of  great  trees 
leading  to  its  somewhat  pretentious  gate.  Within 
the  gate  was  a mansion,  comparable  to  the  one 
described  before  in  Tosa,  with  many  rooms  and  a 
beautiful  and  ancient  garden.  The  owner  was  a 
farmer  on  a very  large  scale,  with  five  hundred 
tenants,  and  his  land  had  come  down  to  him 
through  many  generations  of  ancestors  by  strict 
primogeniture.  His  tenants  were  at  his  mercy, 
as  they  owned  only  their  cabins  and  the  land  on 
which  their  cabins  stood,  and  not  a foot  besides. 
He  could  not  turn  them  out  of  their  houses,  but 
he  could  deprive  th$m  of  employment  at  his  will. 
My  friend,  in  illustrating  the  completeness  of  his 


184 


85 


The  Common  People 

father’s  control,  pointed  out  a cabin  with  the 
stump  of  a tree  beside  it  and  said:  “ My  father 
had  that  tree  cut  down.  I remonstrated,  saying, 
‘ The  peasant  gets  much  pleasure  from  it,’  but 
he  replied,  ‘ So  much  pleasure  that  by  and  by  he 
will  begin  to  think  the  tree  his  own,  so  I will  cut 
it  down  at  once.’  ” 

The  custom  as  to  tenant  right  varied  in  differ- 
ent provinces.  In  Tosa  the  peasant  could  possess 
his  land  so  long  as  he  paid  the  rent  and  could  dis- 
pose of  his  lease  as  he  saw  fit,  nor  could  the  land- 
lord increase  his  rent,  and  all  the  profits  from 
improvements  were  his  own.  But  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Tokyo,  more  directly  under  the 
Tokugawa  rule,  the  peasants  were  at  the  mercy 
of  their  wealthier  landlords.  This  farmer  of 
whom  I speak  was  not  only  landlord,  but  petty 
magistrate,  and  he  was  permitted  on  occasion  to 
wear  a single  sword.  Yet,  though  he  was  the 
most  important  man  in  the  region,  he  was  at  the 
mercy  of  the  samurai , and  when  the  officials  came 
through  the  district,  they  would  stop  at  his  house, 
use  it  as  their  own,  treat  his  wife  as  if  she  were  a 
servant,  and  go  on  their  way  without  a cent  of 
pay.  So  disagreeable  were  these  visits  that  the 
farmer  compounded  for  them,  paying  the  officials 
a certain  rate  per  year  with  which  they  could 
entertain  themselves  at  the  village  inn. 

Before  visiting  the  home  my  friend  charged  me 
carefully  as  to  the  language  I should  use  to  his 
brother’s  wife,  “ For,”  he  said,  “ if  you  use  the 


Japanese  Life 


1 86 

terms  with  which  you  address  the  city  women, 
she  will  think  that  you  are  mocking  her;  there- 
fore talk  to  her  with  plain  speech.  ’ ’ 

The  farms  of  the  peasants  average  one  acre  and 
a quarter  each,  and  four-tenths  of  the  products  are 
paid  for  rent.  It  is  plain  that  the  support  of  a 
family  on  six-tenths  of  the  products  of  an  acre 
and  a quarter  is  a matter  of  the  greatest  difficulty. 
A farmer  brought  me  his  accounts,  showing  the 
gross  results  of  a year  of  labour.  It  came  to  $18, 
and  out  of  this  he  bought  most  of  the  food  which 
he  ate  and  paid  for  all  his  expenses,  for  the  peas- 
ant farmer  cannot  eat  the  rice  which  he  grows — 
he  must  sell  it  and  buy  cheaper  food,  rye,  wheat, 
and  millet.  In  addition  to  the  rice,  he  raises,  on 
the  borders  of  his  fields  and  every  scrap  of  other- 
wise unused  land,  vegetables,  with  which,  and 
the  cheapest  of  fish  and  the  grains  mentioned,  he 
must  be  content.  Only  on  high  festivals,  once  or 
twice  a year,  can  he  indulge  in  the  luxury  of  rice. 
I said  to  the  farmer  who  showed  me  his  accounts, 
“ How  can  you  ever  make  two  ends  meet?  ” and 
he  replied,  “ By  arithmetic  the  feat  is  impossible, 
but  in  actual  life  we  somehow  manage  it.” 

Clothing,  of  course,  is  of  the  simplest,  and  in 
hot  weather  is  almost  wholly  wanting.  The 
woman  shares  with  her  husband  in  all  the  labours 
of  the  field,  as  of  the  house,  and  has  an  independ- 
ence unknown  to  her  more  favoured  sisters  in 
the  capital.  The  pleasures  are  found  chiefly  in 
connection  with  the  neighbouring  temple  and  with 


PEASANTS  TRANSPLANTING  RICE. 


The  Common  People  187 

journeys  to  remoter  shrines  and  places  of  note,  for 
the  common  people  manage  in  their  poverty  to 
travel.  They  are  formed  in  associations  in  which 
each  member  pays  one  cent  a month  as  dues,  and 
once  a year  lots  are  drawn  and  the  favoured  few, 
taking  the  whole  sum  collected,  go  on  pilgrimage. 
Sometimes  on  the  journey  they  wear  peculiar  hats 
and  special  garments,  handed  down  from  year  to 
year.  They  carry  banners  and  with  them  goes 
some  man  who  acts  as  guide,  and  at  every  point 
of  interest  volubly  and  loudly  describes  the  scene. 
Especially  in  the  intervals  of  farm  work  one  sees 
these  groups,  aggregating  thousands,  going  by 
the  cheapest  conveyances,  stopping  at  the  cheap- 
est inns,  eating  the  cheapest  food,  and  having  an 
amount  of  pleasure  which  any  one  might  envy. 

Only  when  taxation  becomes  unendurable  does 
the  peasant  yield  to  discontent.  There  are  stories 
in  Old  Japan  of  fierce  gatherings  of  farmers  who 
destroyed  their  landlord  and  his  property  and 
sometimes  carried  their  grievances  to  the  capitol. 
But  under  the  new  regime  such  risings  are  un- 
known, partly  because  the  weight  of  taxation  is 
less  and  is  no  longer  subject  to  the  whims  of  in- 
dividuals, partly  because  the  peasant  now  has  the 
same  rights  with  other  men  and  there  are  other 
means  for  making  his  needs  known,  and  partly 
because  he  finds  new  opportunities  for  gaining  the 
objects  which  he  desires. 

Naturally  enough,  the  state  of  morality  among 
the  peasants  is  low.  In  some  provinces,  in  the 


1 88 


Japanese  Life 

past  at  least,  there  was  a good  deal  of  infanticide 
or,  if  the  infant  daughters  were  not  killed,  they 
were  sold  to  lives  of  infamy.  The  men,  brought 
up  without  respect  for  women  and  without  ideals 
of  high  virtue  for  themselves,  sought  their  pleas- 
ures in  ways  little  above  those  of  animals. 

The  hard  life  with  its  limited  interests  and  nar- 
row outline  has  driven  thousands  of  men  in  the 
last  few  years  to  the  cities.  In  the  old  days  they 
were  forbidden  to  leave  their  homes;  there  were 
barriers  on  all  the  main  roads,  where  travellers 
were  checked  and  examined  and  sent  back  if  they 
could  not  give  a good  account  of  themselves.  But 
with  restrictions  removed,  thousands  of  young 
men  have  given  up  their  ancestral  homes  with  the 
monotonous  toil  and  scanty  remuneration.  The 
jin-riki-sha  men  in  Tokyo  are  largely  recruited 
from  the  farmer  class,  as  they  find  liberty,  larger 
pay,  less  constant  toil,  better  things  to  eat,  and  the 
amusements  of  the  city.  Their  pay  is  about  two 
cents  a mile,  and  they  earn  varying  sums  per  day. 
In  a private  family  th ejm-riki-ska  man  is  content 
with  eight  dollars  per  month,  out  of  which  he 
buys  his  food  and  perhaps  supports  his  family. 
He  is  the  most  pampered  of  his  fellows,  though 
sometimes  the  men  who  stand  on  the  corners  of 
the  streets  earn  much  more  money  for  a time.  It 
is  customary  to  engage  them  at  rates  settled  in 
advance,  for  short  trips  or  for  long.  Often,  like 
cab  drivers  in  all  lands,  they  attempt  to  take  far 
more  than  their  lawful  fare;  and  sometimes  discus- 


A PILGRIM  TO  MT.  FUJI. 


The  Common  People  189 

sions  as  to  the  rate  of  pay  are  noisy  and  prolonged, 
but  if  the  traveller  is  wise  enough  to  make  his 
bargain  in  advance,  he  may  be  certain  that  his 
human  steed  will  find  no  fault  and  faithfully  per- 
form his  part  to  the  end.  On  long  journeys  the 
jin-riki-sha  men  are  changed  at  stages  of,  say,  ten 
miles,  but  occasionally  they  prefer  to  go  the  whole 
day,  making  journeys  that  seem  incredible. 

On  the  west  coast  of  Japan  a man  pulled  me  in 
one  day  fifty-five  miles  over  ordinary  country  roads, 
up  hill  and  down.  I remonstrated  repeatedly, 
but  he  told  me  that  his  home  was  at  the  end  of 
our  route,  and  he  desired  to  get  back  that  night. 
It  took  him  eleven  hours  to  cover  the  distance. 
At  its  end,  taking  me  to  the  hotel,  while  I en- 
gaged my  room  and  exchanged  salutations  with 
my  host,  he  threw  water  over  himself  and  put  on  a 
clean  robe.  Then  he  followed  me  to  my  room  in 
the  rear,  bowed  himself  to  the  floor  and  said: 
“You  must  be  tired  after  so  long  a ride,  and  I de- 
sire to  know  if  there  is  not  something  I can  do  to 
help  you.” 

Sometimes  we  would  engage  men  by  the  week 
making  a round  of  resorts  and  on  these  trips  day  by 
day,  perhaps  thirty  miles  would  be  an  average  run. 
On  such  long  journeys  the  men  come  to  consider 
themselves  your  personal  servants  and  your  friends; 
they  are  on  the  outlook  for  -whatever  they  think 
will  amuse  or  interest,  pointing  out  bits  of  scenery, 
telling  the  incidents  that  they  chance  to  know 
from  history  and,  if  they  find  you  are  interested, 


190 


Japanese  Life 

say,  in  flowers,  bringing  specimens.  With  un- 
failing politeness  and  good  nature  and  endur- 
ance, on  the  whole  I do  not  think  that  the  coolies 
of  Japan  can  be  equalled  by  those  of  any  other  race 
or  place.  The  men  engaged  in  a family  for  such 
work  could  be  trusted  absolutely.  They  would 
take  little  children  for  any  distance  and  to  any 
place  and  their  employer  would  be  certain  that  no 
harm  would  come  and  that  they  would  defend  his 
interests  as  their  own. 

The  artisans  in  the  ancient  regime  ranked  next 
the  farmers.  Nowadays  the  old  distinctions  are 
gone  and  the  common  people  mingle  as  elsewhere, 
with  little  which  is  distinctive  in  life  or  thought. 

The  first  impression  is  that  the  artisans  are  skil- 
ful, careful,  and  trustworthy.  The  second  is  that 
they  are  careless,  idle,  and  ready  to  take  advant- 
age of  ignorance  or  a want  of  vigilance.  It  used 
to  be  said  among  foreigners  that  one  perilled  his 
soul’s  salvation  if  he  attempted  to  build  a house, 
and  that  no  one  was  such  a saint  that  he  could 
build  two  without  losing  all  claim  to  heaven.  For 
example,  after  a severe  earthquake,  in  a time  of 
rain,  the  tiles  on  the  roof  were  displaced,  and  the 
entire  interior  of  the  house  was  threatened  in  case 
of  a shower.  A messenger  was  sent  post-haste 
for  the  carpenter.  Late  in  the  afternoon  he  came 
and  heard,  patiently,  the  story  of  the  damage 
done.  The  second  day  he  appeared  and  deposited 
a ladder;  the  third  day  he  put  the  ladder  against 
the  house,  ascended  it,  and  inspected  the  injured 


The  Common  People  191 

place,  and  finally,  on  the  fourth  day  the  work 
began. 

An  addition  was  to  be  built,  and  one  noticed 
with  interest  the  procedure.  A contract  had  been 
made  with  a responsible  man,  so  that  our  interest 
was  merely  in  the  fashion  of  the  workman’s  life. 
Leisurely,  at  eight  o’clock  or  thereabouts  the  men 
assembled,  made  a fire  of  chips,  heated  water,  pre- 
pared their  tea,  smoked  their  pipes,  and  then  be- 
gan. After  an  hour  and  a half  of  steady  work 
they  stopped,  started  up  the  fire,  drank  a cup  of 
tea,  smoked  a pipe,  and  then  went  back  to  work. 
At  noon  they  took  a full  hour  for  rest  and  lunch, 
with  another  pause  for  tea  and  smoke  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  afternoon,  and  an  early  stop  for  the 
night,  gathering  around  the  fire  once  more  for 
another  cup  and  another  pipe  before  they  parted. 

Bad  material,  bad  workmanship,  extortionate 
prices  are  as  common  as  elsewhere,  perhaps  not 
more  common,  notwithstanding  the  protests  of 
foreign  residents  who  are  sure  the  Japanese  are 
without  rivals  in  delays  and  carelessness  and 
general  unreliability.  So  much  we  allow  for  the 
debit  side  of  the  account,  and  for  the  credit  ? 

If  one  will  exercise  thorough  patience,  and 
possess  expert  knowledge,  if  he  will  be  as  nice  in 
his  choice  of  men  as  in  his  native  land  and  will  be 
as  ready  to  pay  large  sums  for  fine  work  he  can 
procure  results  almost  unrivalled.  It  is  a mis- 
taken notion  which  is  the  cause  of  many  difficul- 
ties that  fine  work  in  Japan  is  cheap,  and  that  the 


192 


Japanese  Life 

ordinary  workman  is  to  be  trusted  implicitly.  But 
the  ordinary  workman  in  Japan  is  like  his  fellow 
everywhere,  and  the  extraordinary  workman  in 
Japan  is  also  like  his  fellow,  unusual  by  definition, 
difficult  to  discover,  and  when  discovered  con- 
scious of  his  own  value,  and  we  may  add,  worth 
the  estimate.  When  we  get  over  the  notion,  once 
for  all,  that  there  is  an  inherent  difference  in  psy- 
chology, and  that  the  Japanese  is  something  mys- 
terious for  either  good  or  evil,  and  come  to  deal 
with  him  as  with  our  common  humanity,  we  find 
sure  ground,  and  get  on  at  once. 

Japanese  houses  for  the  most  part  are  flimsy  in 
construction,  with  almost  nothing  beyond  a super- 
ficial cleanliness  and  an  artistic  simplicity  to  rec- 
ommend them.  The  wood  of  which  they  are  made 
is  badly  seasoned  and  full  of  knots,  the  floors  are 
covered  with  thick  mats,  so  that  the  boards  are 
left  unmatched,  with  unfilled  knot-holes,  and  gen- 
erally untidy  and  unformed  as  if  anything  would 
do.  Then  the  finish  is  given  in  paper,  or  plaster, 
and  a little  fine-grained  wood  is  carefully  chosen 
as  ornament.  Possibly  the  common  fires  have  had 
to  do  with  the  miserable  construction,  it  being  a 
kind  of  insurance  to  put  into  the  dwelling  no 
more  expense  than  would  be  covered  by  a few 
years’  rent. 

When  a different  fashion  is  required  it  can  be 
furnished,  but  with  these  requisites, — unlimited 
time,  unlimited  patience,  and  a seemingly  dispro- 
portionate disbursement  of  funds.  For  good  work, 


The  Common  People  193 

as  already  indicated,  is  expensive  and  is  in  demand 
only  by  the  rich.  Yet  when  all  is  said,  there  is 
still  a balance  on  the  side  of  the  Japanese,  for  even 
the  cottages,  miserable  as  they  are,  have  an  ap- 
pearance which  does  not  grievously  offend.  When 
one  thinks  of  the  rows  of  cottages  in  many  factory 
towns  in  the  West,  without  a touch  of  beauty,  un- 
graceful, gaunt,  disorderly,  even  the  tiny  cottages 
of  Japan  seem  attractive  in  the  comparison.  They 
at  least  do  not  offend  the  eye,  and  if  they  are  not 
built  for  ages,  they  cost  little  to  construct,  little 
for  rent,  and  serve  their  purpose  before  they  reach 
their  predestined  end  and  go  up  in  flame  and 
smoke. 

When  the  work  is  fine,  it  is  extremely  good, 
and  very  costly.  I remember  a villa  in  the  sub- 
urbs of  Tokyo  which  belonged  to  a wealthy  mer- 
chant. It  was  large,  and  yet  in  general  form  and 
fashion  was  like  any  Japanese  house,  but  the  pains 
which  had  been  taken  and  the  expense  incurred 
were  incredible.  Thus,  the  wood  in  the  different 
rooms  differed  in  kind,  and  in  each  the  exposed 
framework  was  absolutely  of  a colour  and  a grain. 
The  timbers  which  supported  the  floor  above,  run- 
ning around  the  room,  had  been  so  matched  in 
grain  that  the  lines  seemed  continuous.  No  less 
care  had  been  taken  with  the  garden.  In  its 
midst  there  was  a hill,  an  imitation  of  a famous 
mountain,  and  the  gardener  told  us  it  had  been 
erected  and  destroyed  fifteen  times  before  the 

owner  could  be  satisfied  with  the  slope  of  its  sides. 

13 


i94 


Japanese  Life 


In  the  ancient  days  the  best  artisans  were  ar- 
tists, and  they  were  independent  of  the  changing 
markets.  Employed  for  life  by  the  feudal  barons, 
they  worked  at  leisure  and  were  under  no  tempta- 
tion to  substitute  quantity  of  output  for  its  perfect 
quality.  Indeed,  the  tradition  has  it  that  in  some 
instances,  as  in  the  kilns  of  the  Lord  of  Satsuma, 
the  workmen  were  told  to  break  every  piece  which 
showed  any  flaw,  as  the  entire  output  was  for  the 
Baron,  and  was  used  by  him  or  given  to  his 
friends.  Artisan  and  artist  were  indistinguish- 
able. Ornament  was  not  essentially  adornment, 
but  it  was  the  perfect  formation  of  some  useful 
article,  made  beautiful  according  to  the  canons 
of  accepted  art.  For  such  creations  time  was 
essential,  whether  the  work  be  in  lacquer,  in 
metals,  in  porcelain,  on  silk,  or  in  wood.  An- 
other fashion  of  work  was  common,  when  the 
main  things  were  speed  and  cheapness,  but  even 
these  productions  had  an  artistic  quality  which 
could  not  be  omitted  in  the  workmanship  of  this 
aesthetic  race.  A foreigner  wants  so  much  for  so 
much  in  such  a time,  and  he  can  get  it,  of  a most 
uncertain  quality.  But  the  transaction  belonged 
to  a commercial  class,  and  the  Japanese  artisan  of 
the  highest  order  was  not  commercial  but  feudal. 
That  is,  like  the  samurai , he  had  his  own  ideals, 
and  his  own  status,  and  his  own  way  of  life,  and 
with  these  he  was  content,  not  being  engaged  in 
a scramble  for  more  money  or  a higher  position. 

An  artist  painted  some  pictures  for  friends  of 


r95 


The  Common  People 

mine  wlio  were  travelling.  We  discussed  the 
subjects  and  the  methods  of  execution,  and  left 
the  painter  to  his  own  ways  and  times,  the  pic- 
tures eventually  to  meet  my  friends  at  home  after 
their  leisurely  journey  around  the  world.  A.t  the 
same  time  the  artist  agreed  to  paint  a picture  for 
me.  Its  theme  was  religious, — the  original  dis- 
ciples of  Buddha  after  their  attainment  of  salva- 
tion,— and  its  execution  involved  much  detail, 
hong  after,  when  the  transaction  had  almost  faded 
from  my  memory,  the  artist  appeared  with  the 
picture,  complete  and  mounted.  His  only  re- 
sponse to  my  words  of  admiration  was,  “ I have 
put  my  heart  into  it.”  He  had  painted  at  his 
pleasure,  when  in  the  mood,  and  nothing  would 
have  tempted  him  to  work  when  the  spirit  failed. 
The  sum  he  asked  was  twenty  en , perhaps  fifteen 
dollars  at  the  current  rate  of  exchange.  He  was 
not  putting  a price  upon  his  work,  but  worked  for 
the  love  of  it,  and  the  price  enabled  him  to  supply 
his  simple  wants.  He  lived  in  a tiny  tenement  in 
the  rear  of  a shop,  in  a plebeian  part  of  the  city. 
His  rooms  cost  him  perhaps  three  dollars  a month, 
and  the  rest  of  his  living  possibly  ten  dollars  more. 
It  was  plain  living  and  high  art.  So  one  would 
find  the  best  workers  in  all  the  arts,  in  tiny  apart- 
ments, in  the  rear  of  shops,  with  the  suggestion 
of  a garden,  with  the  simplest  wants,  and  working 
care-free  at  their  ease. 

The  artist,  to  whom  we  have  drifted  from  the 
artisans, — for  the  first  in  Japan  is  only  the  second 


*96  Japanese  Life 

working  for  the  love  of  his  handicraft, — has  his 
secrets  and  his  etiquette.  It  would  not  be  Japan 
if  organisation  had  not  been  carried  to  the  ex- 
treme, so  there  are  guilds  with  dinners,  ceremonies, 
initiations,  and  mysteries.  Families  hand  down 
the  secrets  from  generation  to  generation,  and  the 
art  is  more  than  blood  or  kindred.  For  if  the  son 
shows  no  skill  or  aptitude,  then  some  promising 
apprentice  will  become  the  heir  and  inherit  the 
name  and  the  headship  of  the  family,  as  of  the 
guild  or  school.  This  accounts  for  the  long  lines 
of  distinguished  artists  and  artisans  and  actors 
and  all  the  rest.  It  seems  astonishing  that  so 
often  for  many  generations,  son  should  follow 
father  in  possession  of  high  ability  until  one  learns 
the  facts  and  discovers  that  adoption  takes  the 
place  of  nature  and  supplies  a son  who  can  take 
the  father’s  place  not  by  the  lottery  of  heredity, 
but  by  the  surer  selection  of  long  training  and 
years  of  test,  the  ablest  coming  to  the  fore. 

In  such  an  atmosphere,  where  the  thing  is  more 
important  than  the  man,  it  is  difficult  to  distin- 
guish the  original  from  the  copy.  For  as  the 
secret  of  the  art  is  handed  down,  and,  as  time 
passes,  its  preservation  becomes  all  important,  al- 
most a religious  rite,  copying  becomes  a fine  art. 
Originality  disappears,  and  generation  follows 
generation  in  the  well-worn  path.  When  now  an 
original  is  desired  and  not  a copy,  it,  too,  can  be 
produced,  with  all  the  marks  of  age,  and  as  such 
desires  become  common  it  is  easy  to  supply  the 


The  Common  People  197 

demand,  so  that  one  may  have  originals  so  long 
as  his  desires  and  his  purse  hold  out.  If  one 
knows  the  trick  there  is  no  concealment,  but  the 
visitor  will  be  shown  the  process  in  the  shop,  and 
one  may  buy  his  antique  in  the  making. 

Showing  some  friends  one  day  through  a well- 
known  shop  in  Tokyo,  while  they  were  employed 
in  looking  at  a variety  of  articles  I strolled  around 
the  place  and  the  proprietor  called  my  attention 
to  a peculiarly  beautiful  bronze  antique.  I know 
nothing  of  bronzes,  but  drew  my  bow  at  a venture, 
remarking,  “ Yes,  it  is  very  beautiful,  but  I prefer 
something  which  shows  plainly  that  it  is  new. 
For  I fear  this  preparation  which  gives  the  antique 
appearance  will  show  wear,  and  the  effect  will  be 
ludicrous.  ’ ’ And  he  replied,  “You  need  not  hesi- 
tate on  that  account,  for  the  preparation  is  so 
good  that  before  it  wears  off  the  vase  will  be  really 
old.”  So  if  in  a commercial  age  people  want 
things  for  fictitious  purposes  and  at  fictitious 
values  they  can  be  produced  in  quantity,  in  haste, 
with  any  marks  desired,  costly  or  cheap  as  you 
may  wish,  the  work  of  artisans  who  meet  a com- 
mercial demand.  But  if  one  wishes  art  in  house 
building,  in  porcelain,  in  lacquer,  in  ivory,  in 
painting,  in  gardening,  or  in  silks,  he  must  do  as 
the  Japanese  do,  wait  in  peace  and  pay  as  the 
artist  works,  with  honour  for  honour,  and  respect 
for  respect,  and  value  for  value. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


MERCHANTS,  WOMEN,  AND  SERVANTS 
PART  from  all  these  classes,  and  beneath 


them  are  the  merchants.  “ There  is  such 


a thing  as  trade,”  said  an  old  samurai  to  his 
pupil,  “see  that  you  know  nothing  of  it,  for  trade 
is  the  only  game  in  which  the  winner  is  dis- 
graced.” In  a thoroughgoing  feudal  society, 
where  personal  gain  was  excluded,  where  men 
were  to  receive  their  daily  portions  and  therewith 
be  content,  the  man  who  sought  gain  was  outside 
the  pale  of  respectability.  Merchants  there  must 
be,  as  there  must  be  scavengers,  but  both  are  to 
be  avoided  and  despised.  With  such  a name  it  is 
not  surprising  that  merchants  came  to  deserve  it. 
Trade  was  a game  in  which  each  sought  to  over- 
reach the  other. 

There  are  a few  great  merchants,  for  the  most 
part  men  who  have  held  lucrative  contracts  for 
the  Government.  Arai  Hakuseki  has  shown  us 
how  high-minded  sa7nurai  regarded  them  in  his 
day;  and  in  our  own,  gentlemen  can  scarcely  re- 
strain their  wrath  as  they  speak  of  “ Government 


198 


Merchants,  Women,  Servants  199 


merchants,”  who  become  rich  from  their  con- 
tracts, and  seek  luxury  at  the  expense  of  the 
people.  As  in  Arai’s  day  officials  were  supposed 
to  share  in  the  spoils,  * ‘ so  they  divided  the  wealth 
of  the  people  between  them,”  in  our  day  also 
scandals  are  not  infrequent.  But,  though  the 
secret  history  of  Japan  would  show  how  it  has 
been  possible  for  officials  on  meagre  salaries  to 
build  expensive  villas  and  to  live  like  men  of 
wealth,  yet  the  evil  has  been  kept  within  bounds 
and  has  not,  as  in  the  past,  affected  public  effi- 
ciency. 

Besides  the  great  merchants,  there  were  rich 
money-lenders,  who  made  loans  to  the  feudal 
nobles.  The  rate  of  interest  is  excessive,  ten  per 
cent,  per  month  being  not  uncommon.  Many  of 
these  men  lost  heavily  at  the  restoration,  and  their 
place  has  been  taken  by  a system  of  banks  organ- 
ised on  the  Western  model.  But  here,  too,  the 
rate  of  interest  remains  high,  showing  the  low 
stage  of  commercial  development. 

With  this  change  there  is  also  the  formation 
of  commercial  companies  for  steamships,  mining, 
manufacturing,  with  a bourse,  and  all  the  modern 
methods  for  enriching  the  “ public.”  Great  fac- 
tories, too,  have  been  built,  degrading  labour  by 
long  hours,  insufficient  pay,  and  the  employment 
of  children;  for  public  sentiment,  which  should 
restrain  unscrupulous  employers  and  compel  the 
enactment  of  proper  laws,  does  not  exist.  Nothing 
is  more  threatening  to  the  future  of  Japan  than 


200 


Japanese  Life 

this  sudden  development  of  commercialism.  The 
old  standards  are  gone,  a new  appetite  for  wealth 
has  been  aroused,  and  thus  far  no  corresponding 
sense  of  commercial  honour  has  been  developed. 
Probably  nothing  so  injures  Japan  as  its  want  of  a 
commercial  code  of  ethics.  Certainly  commercial- 
ism in  our  own  lands  is  far  from  impeccable,  and 
one  sometimes  smiles  when  he  hears  the  Japanese 
especially  denounced;  but  when  all  allowances 
are  made  it  remains  true  that  the  Japanese  are  in 
universal  disrepute,  in  striking  contrast  to  their 
Chinese  neighbours  on  the  continent,  and  to  their 
own  reputation  in  all  other  walks  in  life.  But  in 
a commercial  age  like  our  own  it  is  the  commercial 
code  which  after  all  finally  determines  position, 
and  unless  Japan  reform  and  bring  to  its  commer- 
cial transactions  the  same  intelligence  and  the 
same  honour  which  characterise  its  other  depart- 
ments of  life  it  will  bear  a stigma  which  its  friends 
will  be  powerless  to  remove. 

But  our  dealings  are  for  the  most  part  with  the 
petty  shopkeepers,  and  their  behaviour  seems  vex- 
ing or  delightful  according  to  our  mood.  If 
shopping  be  a serious  affair,  to  be  accomplished  in 
the  shortest  time,  with  the  least  expenditure  of 
strength  or  money  for  the  desired  result,  then  the 
shops  are  a trial  and  a vexation  of  spirit.  But  if 
the  shopping  be  an  amusement,  a fashion  for 
whiling  away  an  unlimited  amount  of  time,  with 
a fair  chance  of  failure  after  all,  set  off  by  another 
chance  of  some  astonishing  success,  then  it  will 


Merchants,  Women,  Servants  201 


be  an  unmixed  delight.  Indies,  foreigners,  in 
Tokyo  make  discoveries  of  choice  shops  in  unex- 
pected places  and  keep  their  situation  to  them- 
selves, like  sly  fishermen,  or  take  some  chosen 
friend  in  triumph  and  pledged  to  secrecy. 

To  buy  means  to  bargain,  usually,  though  there 
are  shops  where  the  rule  is  one  price.  But  the 
difference  between  asking  and  taking  is  often  im- 
mense; a vase  for  which  twenty  en  was  asked,  and 
for  which  two  en  was  bid,  being  sent  in  haste 
down  the  street  after  the  purchaser,  when  she  had 
told  her  jin-riki-sha  man  to  go  on,  as  she  had  no 
more  time  to  waste.  But  not  only  is  there  bar- 
gaining, but  sometimes  a seeming  reluctance  to 
sell,  as  the  price,  having  been  made  for  a single 
article,  is  increased  when  you  wish  to  buy  a dozen, 
for  that  would  exhaust  the  stock  and  put  the  pro- 
prietor to  the  trouble  of  getting  more.  And  often 
the  merchant  has  denied  the  possession  of  a cer- 
tain line  of  goods,  until  his  customer  repeats  and 
repeats  again  her  knowledge  that  he  has  it, 
when  finally  he  sends  his  clerk  and  produces  the 
article  from  his  warehouse  in  the  rear. 

Really  here,  too,  the  feudal  notion  still  prevails. 
Only  in  exceptional  instances  is  there  enterprise, 
and  the  ordinary  man  is  satisfied  with  his  humble 
and  uneventful  life.  All  day  long  he  sits  upon 
his  mats,  with  pipe  and  tea  at  hand,  going  through 
the  same  simple  routine  and  varying  it  only  on 
festivals  or  great  occasions,  when  he  shares  the 
simple  pleasure  of  his  class,  in  theatre,  or  in 


202 


Japanese  Life 


gardens,  or  with  a few  friends  he  has  a quiet  din- 
ner at  an  inn.  It  costs  little,  he  has  no  desire  for 
more,  he  lives  as  his  father  lived,  and  as  his  son 
after  him  will  live.  And  as  to  his  customer,  he 
measures  him  by  a feudal  standard  too. 

In  a commercial  age  we  pay  for  what  we  get, 
and  it  does  not  matter  who  we  are,  or  what  we 
have.  But  in  a feudal  society  men  pay  according 
to  their  place  and  possessions.  Forgetfulness  of 
this  and  the  intrusion  of  American  commercial- 
ism into  Japan  as  if  eternally  right  has  accounted 
for  much  disillusionment.  I knew  an  American 
woman  who  learned  precisely  the  accepted  rate  for 
a jin-riki-sha  from  her  house  to  the  railway  sta- 
tion, and  more  she  would  not  pay.  As  a result  she 
could  get  only  strangers  to  serve  her,  and  they 
never  a second  time;  for  only  the  poor  paid  the 
rate  she  offered  and  others  gave  according  to  their 
rank.  The  man  who  would  willingly  make  the 
trip  for  the  American’s  cook  would  not  stir  for 
herself  at  the  same  rate.  A Japanese  gentleman 
pays  twice  or  thrice  the  rate  his  servant  pays,  or 
feels  himself  disgraced.  So,  too,  at  the  inns  the 
foreigner  in  passing  through  the  office  notices  the 
rates  posted  in  plain  sight:  first  class,  thirty  cents 
for  supper,  room,  bath,  and  breakfast;  second 
class,  twenty-five;  third  class,  eighteen;  and  feels 
offended  when  his  bill  is  sent  him  for  a dollar,  but 
still,  compared  with  a Japanese  of  rank,  he  gets 
off  cheap.  For  when  the  Japanese  enters  his 
room  the  maid  brings  him  tea  and  cakes,  and  he 


Merchants,  Women,  Servants  203 


puts  his  tea  money  on  the  tray.  Soon  she  returns 
with  a receipt  for  the  tip  from  the  master  of  the 
house.  The  amount  of  the  tip  shows  the  estimate 
the  guest  puts  upon  himself  and  the  amount  of 
service  he  expects.  With  a charge  of  thirty-five 
cents  first  class,  a gentleman  may  put  down  two 
dollars  for  tea  money,  if  he  be  extravagant,  and 
then  on  his  departure  tip  all  the  servants  in  ad- 
dition, or  he  may  give  any  less  sum,  even  ten 
cents  or  five.  The  treatment  varies  with  the  tip, 
but,  after  all,  one  thus  pays  not  for  what  he  gets 
in  room  or  bath  or  food,  but  for  courteous  consid- 
eration and  the  respect  due  to  him  as  a gentleman. 

The  same  custom  has  obtained  in  shops,  so  that 
well-known  men  sometimes  avoid  the  districts 
where  they  live  and  make  their  purchases  else- 
where, and  save  at  least  fifty  per  cent,  by  their 
trouble.  For  as  all  Japanese  social  life  is  arranged 
on  the  basis  of  distinctions  and  differences,  even 
the  language  not  permitting  the  same  word  to 
superior  and  to  inferior,  why,  then,  should  com- 
merce be  the  sole  exception  and  men  pay  only  and 
strictly  on  the  basis  of  what  they  get  ? It  savours, 
to  the  Japanese,  of  selfishness.  One  man  has  more 
money  than  another,  not  that  he  may  be  more 
luxurious,  but  that  he  may  support  a larger  num- 
ber of  his  fellow-men.  So  was  it  in  feudal  times: 
when  a samurai  got  an  increase  in  pay  it  did  not 
mean  that  he  should  have  more  ready  money, 
nor  that  he  should  lay  up  a store  against  illness 
or  old  age,  but  that  he  should  have  a larger  house 


204 


Japanese  Life 

and  a greater  retinue  of  servants,  and  thus  pro- 
vide a livelihood  for  a greater  number.  Accord- 
ing to  the  political  economy  of  feudalism  this  is 
the  proper  use  of  an  increased  income,  and  accord- 
ing to  feudal  ethics  any  other  course  is  inspired 
by  selfishness,  and  is  evidence  of  a meanness 
which  invites  contempt. 

We  have  described  the  fashions  of  payment  in 
an  inn, — perhaps  we  may  spend  a night  in  one. 
Nowhere  has  the  art  of  innkeeping  been  more 
studied,  yet  it  is  of  late  date,  for  inns  were  built 
first  for  the  accommodation  of  the  feudal  nobles 
and  their  trains  on  their  procession  to  and  from 
Yedo,  in  the  Tokugawa  days.  In  the  earliest 
times  none  would  entertain  a stranger,  and  even 
the  sick  were  left  to  perish  in  the  open,  so  that 
travel  was  difficult  and  dangerous.  Now  they 
are  to  be  found  in  all  parts  of  the  Empire,  and  are 
of  all  degrees  of  excellence,  but,  for  one  who  is 
inured  to  Japanese  life  and  can  do  as  the  natives 
do,  there  is  a charm  about  the  best  of  them. 
After  three  or  four  days  in  the  mountains  and  a 
final  day  of  many  miles  of  hard  and  lonely  walk- 
ing, ending  with  twenty-five  miles  or  more  in  a 
jin-riki-sha,  I am  rolled  up  to  the  gateway  of  the 
most  famous  inn  in  one  of  the  most  popular  re- 
sorts overlooking  the  Inland  Sea.  Instantly  I 
am  loudly  greeted  from  within,  and  a moment 
later  a group  of  servants  with  the  host  warmly 
bid  me  welcome.  I sit  on  the  narrow  veranda, 
and  remove  my  shoes;  then  as  a small  tub  of 


Merchants,  Women,  Servants  205 


warm  water  is  brought  at  my  request  I wash  my 
feet  and  enter.  Passing  the  kitchen,  which  is  in 
front  and  serves  as  office,  I notice  that  the  rate, 
first  class,  is  thirty-five  cents.  The  maid  takes  me 
past  a court  in  which  there  is  the  suggestion  of  a 
garden,  a tiny  pond  and  carp,  with  shrine  and 
bridge  and  tree,  to  a long  suite  of  rooms  in  the 
rear  looking  off  over  a rich  landscape  to  the  dis- 
tant sea.  I seat  myself  upon  a cushion;  the  maid 
disappears,  and  returns  soon  with  a teapot  and 
cup  and  a dish  of  cakes  upon  a tiny  tray.  I drink 
the  tea  ad  libitum , eat  the  cakes,  and  chat  with 
the  maid.  To-day  I am  tired,  hungry,  and  shall 
be  extravagant,  so  when  I have  finished  I put  a 
dollar  on  the  tray  for  tea  money.  She  thanks  me, 
withdraws,  and  soon  returns  with  a receipt  from 
mine  host. 

Now  she  makes  my  room  by  putting  up  screens 
in  the  little  groves  which  separate  the  space  cov- 
ered with  mats,  and  as  the  walls  are  thus  formed 
on  two  sides  my  room  is  lined  with  pictures  in 
gold,  the  floor  is  covered  with  fine  white  mats 
hedged  with  red  silk.  The  alcove  by  the  place 
of  honour  forms  a third  side,  and  it  has  a bronze 
vase  with  a plum  branch,  for  it  is  early  spring. 
The  fourth  side  has  translucent  slides,  and  push- 
ing them  aside  I look  out  towards  the  sea.  By 
and  by  the  maid  comes  again  and  asks  if  I will 
have  a bath.  I ask  if  it  is  ready,  and  she  says, 
“ No,  it  is  not  hot  enough.”  Then  I ask  if  I am 
the  first  guest  to  arrive,  and  she  says,  “Yes.” 


206 


Japanese  Life 

So  I ask  her  to  put  in  some  cold  water  and  to  let 
me  go  at  once,  as  foreign  flesh  cannot  stand  the 
heat  of  their  hot  baths,  and  guests  take  prece- 
dence, using  the  same  bath  in  order  of  arrival. 
She  laughs  at  that  and  goes  to  put  in  the  cold 
water,  and  coming  back  brings  bath-robe  and 
towels.  The  bath  chances  to  be  slightly  retired, 
and  not  in  the  centre  of  the  most  open  space,  as  is 
common.  I find  it  still  hot  enough  to  take  away 
my  breath  as  I get  in  and  shiver  from  the  heat, 
but  the  maid  cries  out:  “I  ’ll  heat  it  up,  and 
make  it  warm,  for  I know  you  are  too  cold.” 
After  a little  hot  water  and  tubs  of  cold  I go  back 
to  my  room,  and  dinner  is  served.  Three  little 
tables  in  succession  appear,  soup,  four  kinds,  and 
fish — also  four  varieties — and  a bit  of  game  with 
the  Japanese  sauce  shoyu , and  rice  from  a wooden 
tub  with  bamboo  sprouts,  and  lily  roots,  and  tea. 
It  is  a dinner  for  an  epicure,  and  takes  away  the 
last  traces  of  the  evils  of  the  day,  and  makes  the 
traveller  supremely  content. 

After  a smoke  I clap  my  hands  and  ask  for  my 
bed,  telling  the  maid  that  foreign  bones  are  soft 
and  that  I must  have  an  unusual  number  of  quilts. 
So  she  brings  in  three  or  four  and  heaps  them 
upon  the  floor.  They  are  stuffed  with  cotton  and 
covered  with  silk.  When  I have  spread  my  sheet 
over  them,  my  one  foreign  weakness,  it  is  a bed 
restful  for  the  weary  traveller.  Another  quilt  is 
drawn  over  me  and  I sink  off  to  sleep.  The  lamp 
has  been  put  out,  but  an  old-fashioned  Japanese 


Merchants,  Women,  Servants  207 


lantern  takes  its  place,  which  burns  bad-smelling 
vegetable  oil  in  a little  basin  with  the  wick  j ust 
peeping  over  the  side.  Close  by  my  pillow — that 
happens  to  be  my  coat  rolled  up,  for  the  Japanese 
head-rest  must  be  mastered  young,  like  golf — is 
the  tobacco  tray,  as  one  smokes  on  waking  up  at 
night.  And  indeed  if  one  awakes  at  night  he  will 
hear  from  some  portion  of  the  inn  the  tap  of  the 
metal  pipe  on  the  side  of  the  bamboo  receptacle 
for  ashes,  showing  the  commonness  of  the  custom, 
and  the  necessity  for  the  provision. 

The  inn  at  night  leaves  much  to  be  desired, 
provided  one  has  not  acquired  Oriental  nerves, 
for  every  sound  is  audible  throughout,  as  the 
rooms  are  separated  only  by  paper  screens,  and 
there  are  people,  Occidentals,  who  object  to  rooms 
without  doors  or  windows  or  locks,  enterable  on 
any  side  by  pushing  back  a smoothly  moving 
slide.  But  in  my  experience  in  Japanese  inns  I 
suffered  no  inconvenience  from  this  peculiarity, 
save  once,  and  that  was  my  own  fault. 

Early  in  my  residence,  while  I was  acquainted 
still  only  with  town-bred  Japanese,  I crossed  the 
bay  of  Tokyo  in  a junk  with  a Japanese  friend 
to  hold  a service  in  a country  town.  Arriving  at 
eventide  my  friend  took  his  bath,  we  had  our  sup- 
per, and  waited  for  the  congregation  to  assemble. 
The  meeting  was  to  be  in  the  inn,  its  broad  ex- 
panse of  mats  offering  the  largest  accommodation. 
At  eight  o’clock,  no  one  appearing,  my  friend 
said  he  would  go  up  the  street  and  soon  be  back. 


208 


Japanese  Life 

At  nine  o’clock  no  one  had  yet  appeared  nor  had 
my  friend  returned.  At  half  after  nine  I was  still 
alone,  and,  sleepy  from  my  day  on  the  bay,  and 
thinking  our  notices  had  gone  astray  and  that  the 
meeting  would  be  the  following  day,  I called  the 
maid,  had  the  slides  put  in  place,  the  quilts  on 
the  floor,  and  soon  was  comfortably  disrobed  and 
in  my  resting-place.  Hearing  a slight  noise,  I 
looked  up,  and  saw  to  my  dismay  the  slides 
pushed  back  and  the  congregation  seated  and 
filling  the  inn.  I was  apparently  the  only  one  at 
all  disturbed  or  surprised,  they  doubtless  think- 
ing my  reception  one  more  foreign  peculiarity.  I 
had  not  learned  that  in  the  country  hours  are  later 
than  in  town,  and  that  ten  o’clock  is  not  an 
unusual  hour  for  meetings.  The  peasants  will 
sit  for  hours  and  listen  to  discourse  after  discourse. 
I have  been  asked  to  preach  three  consecutively, 
— not  a proof  of  my  eloquence  but  of  their  endur- 
ance,— helped,  it  is  true,  by  cups  of  tea  and  cakes 
and  tobacco. 

Sometimes  arrivals  are  late  and  departures 
early.  I have  spent  the  night  at  inns  where  there 
were  only  two  or  three  hours  of  quiet,  and  where 
one  wondered  how  the  servants  stood  the  strain  of 
such  continuous  late  and  early  hours.  Very  often, 
too,  especially  in  summer  time,  fleas  in  abundance 
emerge  from  their  hiding-places,  the  straw-stuffed 
mats  being  just  to  their  liking,  and  attack  the 
traveller.  One  could  tell  large  stories  on  this 
theme. 


MASSAGE.  “THE  JAPANESE  HEAD-REST  MUST  BE  MASTERED  YOUNG,  LIKE  GOLF” 


Merchants,  Women,  Servants  209 


But  this  night,  near  the  inland  sea,  neither  late 
arrivals  nor  insect  foes  disturbed  our  slumbers, 
and  in  the  morning,  after  tea  and  rice,  with  fish 
and  eggs,  we  took  our  leave,  not  forgetting  a 
small  present  to  the  maid.  Our  host  with  all  his 
retinue  followed  us  to  the  gate,  bidding  us  a 
happy  journey,  and  at  the  farthest  corner  of  the 
town  as  we  turned  out  upon  the  highway  to  the 
port  were  our  hostess  and  our  maid,  bowing  deep 
salaams,  and  shouting  their  farewells. 

Would  one  see  Japanese  life  in  its  simplicity,  he 
should  visit  any  of  the  innumerable  resorts  in  the 
mountains.  Bathing  in  hot  water  has  had  high  at- 
tractions from  the  earliest  times,  possibly  because 
nature  has  provided  facilities  so  abundantly.  Al- 
most every  district  has  its  resort,  where  the  hot 
water  rushes  out  of  the  earth  and  at  the  expense 
of  piping  supplies  endless  opportunity  for  pleasure 
and  healing. 

Around  the  spring  villages  are  built,  in  pictur- 
esque confusion,  often  clinging  to  the  mountain- 
side, the  foundations  of  one  house  level  with  the 
roof  of  the  next,  with  narrow  lanes  and  winding 
walks  thickly  lined  with  cottages  as  if  land  were 
priceless  in  value,  with  the  population  as  dense  as 
in  the  metropolis.  Sometimes  the  houses  are  in  a 
valley,  with  a single  street,  and  the  hot  water  led 
in  pipes  of  bamboo  down  its  centre. 

One  may  provide  himself,  as  he  will,  with 

rooms  only,  bringing  his  own  servants  and  food, 

or,  as  with  the  poorer  people,  cooking  his  own 
14 


210 


Japanese  Life 

meals.  This  need  be  his  only  expense,  save  the 
tiniest  fee  for  the  bath.  It  occupies  some  promi- 
nent position,  preferably  the  middle  of  the  street, 
and  the  custom  is  for  men  and  women  to  make 
their  toilets  in  their  rooms  and  then  walk  to  and 
from  the  bath  in  complete  unconsciousness  of  any- 
thing surprising  or  immodest.  Or  one  may  find 
an  expensive  suite  of  rooms  in  some  fine  inn,  and 
be  furnished  his  food  and  all  he  needs  with,  pos- 
sibly, in  these  degenerate  foreign  days,  a separate 
bath  in  private. 

The  springs  vary  in  temperature  and  in  quality. 
There  are  some  which  are  pure  hot  water,  some 
which  are  redolent  of  sulphur,  many  which  are  a 
compound  of  strange  ingredients,  and  some  which 
are  so  very  hot  that  even  the  Japanese  need  mercy. 
One,  for  example,  much  frequented  by  patients 
grievously  afflicted,  is  of  such  a temperature  that 
the  unfortunates  who  must  use  it  enter  in  com- 
panies at  the  sound  of  a bugle,  and  are  cheered  in 
their  endurance  by  the  attendant,  who  tells  them 
every  few  seconds  that  only  so  much  of  their  tor- 
ment remains.  One  very  strange  bath , of  exception- 
ally low  temperature,  only  two  degrees  below  blood 
heat,  has  bathers  who  remain  in  the  bath  for  two 
weeks  at  a time,  sleeping  and  eating  in  the  water, 
floating  at  night  with  a stone  on  their  stomachs 
to  keep  them  in  position.  Naturally  these  baths 
are  chiefly  for  those  who  need  them,  but  in  many 
a resort  the  pleasure  is  the  chief  thing,  and  it  is 
not  unusual  for  the  visitor  to  take  six  or  eight 


Merchants,  Women,  Servants  21 1 


dips  a day.  But  besides  the  bath  there  is  little  to 
do,  no  driving,  no  gatherings  for  afternoon  scan- 
dal and  divertisement,  no  balls,  and  no  cards.  To 
bathe,  to  eat,  to  rest,  to  play  chess  or  go,  to  look 
languidly  over  the  display  in  the  little  shops,  and 
perhaps  to  make  an  excursion  or  two  to  places  of 
interest  in  the  neighbourhood  exhausts  the  list 
of  pleasures.  Foreign  visitors  find  their  chief  in- 
terest in  tramps  to  waterfalls  and  mountain  peaks, 
but  the  combination  does  not  seem  to  appeal 
especially  to  the  Japanese. 

He  climbs  mountains,  too.  We  have  already 
referred  to  the  societies  among  the  common  peo- 
ple for  the  provision  of  funds  for  the  needed  ex- 
pense. So  universal  is  the  passion  for  journeying 
and  climbing,  for  visiting  sacred  peaks  and 
shrines,  that  I do  not  know  another  country  so 
provided  with  admirable  resting-places  for  the 
traveller.  It  matters  not  where  one  goes,  how 
remote  the  district  or  how  inaccessible  the  moun- 
tain, one  is  certain  to  find,  excepting  in  the  rarest 
instances,  just  what  he  (he  being  a Japanese) 
needs.  Thus  one  may  reduce  his  luggage  to  a 
minimum  and  go  in  faith,  for  such  trips  are  not 
that  one  may  display  his  fine  clothes  nor  follow 
expensive  amusements,  nor  make  a laborious  imi- 
tation of  city  ways,  but  are  simple  outings,  with 
the  pleasure  of  life  in  the  open  air,  with  new  and 
beautiful  scenes  around  one,  without  care  or  in- 
terest as  to  what  the  public  thinks,  nor  so  much 
as  a wish  to  seem  other  than  we  are.  And  when 


212 


Japanese  Life 

we  find  our  stopping-place  for  the  noontime  or 
for  the  night,  we  are  not  disturbed  by  some 
great  public  dining-place,  nor  do  we  pay  for  im- 
mense public  rooms  overdecorated,  for  which  we 
have  no  use,  but  we  have  our  room,  where  we 
and  our  friends  can  have  privacy,  sitting-room, 
dining-room,  and  bedroom  in  one.  And,  about 
the  inn,  is  something  on  which  the  eye  can  rest 
with  pleasure,  a fine  view  from  the  window,  if 
that  be  possible,  or,  at  worst,  the  bit  of  a garden 
which  is  never  forgotten.  If  we  desire  company 
we  can  have  it;  the  people  of  the  house  are  ready 
for  a talk,  and  will  make  the  opening.  If  they 
meet  with  a response,  perhaps,  if  it  be  a time  of 
leisure,  all  the  company  will  gather  around  the 
stranger  and  ply  him  with  questions  about  Tokyo, 
the  place  of  residence  written  on  his  passport,  or 
still  more  at  length  about  his  native  land. 

One  would  not  idealise  or  imply  that  all  is 
beautiful.  The  tourist  will  find  one  night,  likely, 
enough.  There  are  rats  which  scamper  over  the 
thin  boards  composing  the  ceiling,  and  fleas  in  the 
mats  on  which  one  sits  and  sleeps,  and  odours  at 
night  in  the  unventilated  rooms,  and  sounds  from 
all  the  adjoining  apartments,  and  late  arrivals  and 
early  goers,  with  a menu  without  bread,  or  butter, 
or  meat,  or  potatoes,  or  pastry,  or  coffee,  or  almost 
anything  which  pleases  the  Occidental  taste.  But 
as  we  look  at  things  through  Japanese  eyes,  and  as 
to  the  manner  born,  we  have  yet  to  find  another 
land  where  vacations  are  so  rational  and  inex- 


Merchants,  Women,  Servants  213 


pensive,  or  where  all  the  needs  of  the  excursionist, 
for  short  trips  or  for  long,  for  the  outing  of  a day 
or  for  the  longest  journey,  are  so  provided  for. 
The  land  itself  invites  excursions  as  it  invites  hot 
baths,  and  the  Japanese  respond  to  both  invita- 
tions with  avidity.  For  no  town  is  without  some 
natural  attraction  within  easy  reach,  a mountain, 
a waterfall,  a lake,  or  at  least  a hill  with  a great 
grove  and  temple,  or,  if  there  be  not  time  for  these, 
then  the  never-failing  gardens,  with  their  succes- 
sion of  changing  charms. 

Yet  Japanese  enjoyments  are  not  wholly  of 
these  quiet  and  idyllic  kinds.  Twice  a year  in 
Tokyo  are  two  weeks  of  wrestling  matches,  when 
the  champions  of  Hast  and  West  defend  their  titles 
against  all  comers,  and  finally  engage  in  a strug- 
gle with  each  other  for  the  supremacy  of  Japan. 
The  sport  goes  back  to  the  remotest  antiquity  and 
has  always  been  held  in  honour.  This  is  the 
more  noteworthy,  as  the  career  of  an  actor  has 
been  held  in  contempt,  and  its  exemplars  have 
been  denied  the  common  rights  of  men.  The 
relative  positions  are  indicated  by  a story  told  of 
the  champion  who,  invited  to  feast  with  the  great- 
est actor  in  Japan,  in  the  modern  era,  offered  him 
a cup  of  tea,  putting  it  on  his  foot  and  so  lifting 
it  instead  of  proffering  it  with  his  hand.  The 
actor  affected  not  to  see  the  cup  and  ignored  the 
affront. 

When  the  wrestling  festival  is  on,  multitudes 
assemble  at  the  temple  and  make  holiday.  The 


214 


Japanese  Life 

wrestlers  are  of  immense  size,  and,  contrary  to  all 
our  notions  of  training,  put  on  flesh.  They  grip 
each  other  and  strain  and  push.  A fall  is  gained 
when  one  is  forced  from  the  ring,  or  if  any  part 
of  his  body,  except  his  feet,  touch  the  ground, 
and  it  has  not  been  unusual  for  men  to  be  'killed 
in  the  contest.  Sometimes  a champion  meets  op- 
ponents in  succession,  and  wins  his  position  at  the 
top  only  by  defeating  all.  The  spectators  seem 
to  forget  their  Eastern  stolidity;  they  shout,  ap- 
plaud, and  throw  gifts  to  their  favourites, — money 
and  clothes,  and  even  watches. 

Of  late  years  the  students  in  the  colleges  have 
taken  up  baseball,  with  boat  races,  and  athletic 
sports.  But  though  they  manifest  great  interest, 
still  they  have  not  yet  acquired  that  serious  devo- 
tion to  victory  and  records  and  the  championship 
which  menaces  our  student  life. 

Nor  are  public  contests  disfigured  by  betting. 
Indeed  gaming  is  forbidden  by  law,  and  although, 
as  everywhere,  it  more  or  less  prevails,  yet  it  takes 
its  place  among  forbidden  things  and  is  not  widely 
prevalent,  for,  in  striking  contrast  to  the  Chinese 
and  Siamese,  the  Japanese  are  not  a gambling 
people. 

Nor  are  they  drunken.  There  are  sake  shops 
in  abundance,  and  far  more  than  enough  is  drunk. 
There  are  drunkards,  too,  and  one  sees,  first  and 
last,  a large  number  of  drunken  men  on  the  streets, 
though  I do  not  remember  seeing  a drunken 
woman.  But  none  the  less,  the  people  are  not 


WRESTLERS  WAITING  FOR  THE  SIGNAL. 


Merchants,  Women,  Servants  215 

drunken,  and  excess  in  drink  is  almost  as  rare 
as  excess  in  eating.  Opium  is  not  used  at  all. 
Taught  by  the  example  of  China,  the  Govern- 
ment forbade  its  importation  and  made  its  pro- 
hibition effectual.  On  the  other  hand,  tobacco 
smoking  is  almost  universal  with  men,  women, 
and  children.  The  tobacco  is  mild,  not  to  our 
foreign  taste,  and  it  is  smoked  in  tiny  pipes  which 
hold  three  puffs  and  answer  a large  purpose  in  kill- 
ing time  through  the  labour  of  filling  them.  Three 
whiffs,  then  knock  out  the  ashes,  refill,  and  light 
again  from  the  charcoal  in  the  box,  and  continue 
at  leisure  all  day  or  night. 

The  great  blot  on  the  social  structure  of  Japan 
is  its  treatment  of  women.  We  do  not  mean  that 
there  are  not  happy  wives  and  honoured  mothers 
and  carefully  nourished  daughters,  for  there  are 
many  such,  but  woman’s  status  is  Asiatic.  As  we 
noted  in  the  earliest  traditions  of  Japan  a naive 
indecency,  so  when  foreigners  first  came  to  Japan 
there  was  still  a naive  indecency.  The  records  of 
the  past  are  disfigured  by  a lawless  yielding  to 
passion  by  the  men,  and  none  of  the  heroes  has 
been  distinguished  by  purity.  The  standard  has 
in  part  changed,  and  Japanese  come  to  look  at 
these  matters  through  foreign  eyes,  adopting  our 
notions,  and  yet  the  road  is  a long  one  to  reforma- 
tion. Licensed  prostitution  has  advocates  in  West- 
ern lands,  but  it  is  most  repellent  in  practice.  The 
Yoshiwara  must  be  supplied,  and  parents  furnish 
their  daughters,  trading  a child’s  life  for  a little 


2l6 


Japanese  Life 

money.  That  such  a situation  could  be  recog- 
nised by  law  tells  the  whole  story  and  needs  no 
comment.  It  is  true  the  prostitute  thus  con- 
demned to  a life  of  shame  through  no  fault  of  her 
own,  but  by  a parent’s  act,  does  not  lose  so  com- 
pletely her  position  and  her  honour  as  does  her 
sister  in  the  West.  She  may  still  be  visited  by  her 
parents,  and  ultimately  return  home.  The  position 
has  even  been  idealised,  as  when  the  sacrifice  of 
herself  by  a girl  to  gain  sorely  needed  funds  for 
a parent  has  been  represented  as  righteousness, 
corresponding  to  the  sacrifice  of  his  life  for  his 
lord  by  the  samurai.  But  the  condition  of  pub- 
lic opinion  which  permits  such  sacrifice  and  does 
not  condemn  the  parent  for  accepting  the  reward 
of  it  need  not  be  described.  The  sexual  rela- 
tion is  regarded  as  any  other  natural  instinct,  to 
be  gratified  by  men  as  freely  and  as  promiscuously. 

In  the  earliest  period  of  Japan  marriage  was 
merely  the  acknowledgment  in  public  of  a rela- 
tionship already  formed  in  private,  and  a man 
might  have  as  many  wives  as  he  could  get  or  sup- 
port, for  it  was  only  the  wife  who  was  bound  to 
faithfulness.  And  so  now,  the  notion  of  chastity 
has  not  the  connotations  it  possesses  in  Christian 
lands.  The  daughter  owes  obedience  to  her  fa- 
ther. She  is  to  marry,  to  become  a concubine, 
to  enter  the  Yoshiwara  at  his  will,  or  to  remain 
a virgin.  She  has  no  property  in  herself  nor  any 
sanctity  which  she  may  maintain  against  him  who 
is  her  lord.  When  she  marries  she  changes  her 


Merchants,  Women,  Servants  217 


allegiance,  that  is  all,  and  is  subject  now  to  her 
husband  as  before  to  her  father.  She  is  the  prop- 
erty of  a man,  and  if  she  yield  to  another,  except- 
ing at  her  lord’s  command,  she  uses  what  is  not  her 
own,  and  father  or  husband  may  kill  her.  As  in 
all  Far- Eastern  ethics,  as  has  been  said,  the  obli- 
gations are  “ perpendicular,”  from  the  lower  to 
the  higher,  from  inferior  to  superior.  And  the 
converse  does  not  hold:  the  superior  is  not  be- 
holden to  his  inferior.  As  the  father  gives  no  ac- 
count of  himself  to  the  daughter,  so  the  husband 
gives  none  to  the  wife.  It  is  enough  if  he  treat 
her  kindly  and  provide  for  her  support.  He  may 
bring  home  a concubine  if  he  will,  or  he  may  ab- 
sent himself  at  pleasure.  Probably  there  is  not 
even  the  attempt  at  concealment,  for  jealousy  is 
one  of  woman’s  cardinal  sins  and  she  is  early 
taught  to  avoid  it.  A youth  would  not  conceal 
his  first  adventures  from  his  mother,  and  from  her 
would  receive  cautions  only  as  to  the  danger  of 
disease,  or  of  infatuation  which  should  impair  his 
fortunes.  The  nation  suffers  in  society,  in  the 
home,  and  in  its  physical  condition  for  its  violation 
of  nature’s  laws.  Once  more  we  note  that  this, 
together  with  the  want  of  commercial  honesty,  is 
constantly  named  as  the  deepest  disgrace  to  the 
Japanese. 

Gross  as  is  the  evil,  yet  one  does  not  see  in  the 
streets  such  exhibitions  as  in  parts  of  Eondon  and 
New  York,  nor  are  the  Japanese  peculiarly  pas- 
sionate. It  is  not  the  result  of  something  inherent 


2 I 8 


Japanese  Life 


in  their  nature,  but  of  the  want  of  a different 
standard.  In  the  long  history,  not  Shinto,  nor 
Buddhism,  nor  the  unwritten  social  law,  has 
taught  the  virtue  of  self-restraint  and  chastity, 
and  the  protests  of  men  like  Arai  Hakuseki  re- 
mained without  effect.  This  relation  of  man  to 
woman  has  been  without  thought  of  shame  or  of 
a different  code  of  social  life.  Separated  from  the 
world  it  could  continue  as  it  began,  but,  brought 
into  contact  with  the  West,  there  are  many  signs 
that  the  ‘ ‘ old  order  changeth,  yielding  place  to 
new.  ’ * 

With  such  a thought  of  woman,  marriage  is  not 
the  union  of  two  equal  persons,  nor  are  husband 
and  wife  the  chief  parties  concerned.  It  is  an 
affair  of  families  and  it  varies  with  their  import- 
ance. Among  common  men,  coolies  and  the  like, 
it  is  of  little  ceremony  or  none  at  all,  and  is  termi- 
nated at  pleasure  on  either  side.  In  higher  sta- 
tions it  is  an  affair  of  go-betweens  and  negotiations. 
When  a husband  or  a wife  is  desired,  a go-between 
is  called  in  who  understands  the  circumstances 
and  promises  to  meet  them.  When  an  eligible 
parti  is  found,  and  the  negotiations  otherwise 
are  complete,  a meeting  between  the  prospective 
bride  and  groom  may  be  arranged.  There  may 
be  one  such  meeting,  or  three,  or  none.  Some- 
times the  bride-elect  goes  to  the  ceremony  wholly 
unacquainted  with  the  face  of  the  man  who  is 
to  be  her  “ heaven  ” and  “ destiny,”  for  she  has 
been  too  indifferent  to  take  the  trouble  involved 


Merchants,  Women,  Servants  219 


in  seeing  him,  and  she  knows  her  wish  will  not 
affect  the  result.  When  the  contracting  parties 
have  important  interests  of  family  and  especially 
of  fortune,  then  the  contracts  are  made  with  care, 
and  divorce  is  correspondingly  difficult.  All  the 
varied  interests  must  be  consulted  in  breaking  the 
contract,  as  in  forming  it.  The  causes  for  divorce 
are  so  numerous  that  it  can  readily  be  obtained, 
save  when  these  other  interests  are  involved,  and 
in  such  cases  it  is  seldom  necessary.  For  if  there 
be  no  son  a boy  may  be  adopted  or  a concubine 
may  be  procured,  and  if  tempers  prove  wholly  in- 
compatible the  two  may  live  apart,  the  wife  in 
aristocratic  seclusion  and  the  husband  following 
his  will. 

The  marriage  ceremony  follows  a prescribed 
routine.  First  is  the  negotiation  through  the  go- 
between,  then  the  mutual  seeing  if  desired,  then 
the  betrothal  presents,  which  are  binding  and 
final,  then  the  choice  of  a lucky  day  for  the  wed- 
ding. When  it  comes  the  bride  arrays  herself 
in  white,  the  colour  of  mourning  in  sign  of  her 
death  to  her  home,  and  is  taken  to  the  bride- 
groom’s house,  where  she  drinks  two  tiny  cups  of 
wine  with  him  and  then  retires  to  her  apartment 
where  her  gown  is  removed  and  she  is  arrayed 
in  clothes  of  his  providing.  Then  she  returns, 
drinks  three  more  cups  of  wine  with  him,  and  the 
ceremony  is  complete.  These  are  the  essentials, 
though  details  differ  greatly  and  sometimes  vari- 
ous elaborations  are  added.  There  is  neither  civil 


220 


Japanese  Life 

nor  religious  rite,  though  under  the  new  code  there 
must  be  a change  of  registration  and  a record  of 
the  event. 

In  most  families  the  bride  falls  under  the  do- 
minion of  the  mother-in-law,  who  remembers  the 
hardships  of  her  apprenticeship  and  revenges  her- 
self on  her  victim.  Nothing,  perhaps,  is  the  cause 
of  so  much  domestic  unhappiness;  so  that  the  bride 
dreads  not  the  unknown  husband  but  the  un- 
known mother-in-law.  To  the  latter  the  husband 
owes  first  allegiance,  and  he  gives  over  his  little 
bride  to  her  tender  mercies,  the  newcomer  being 
little  better  than  a servant.  She,  wholly  shut  off 
from  her  own  family,  is  completely  one  with  the 
new  relationship.  Sometimes,  however,  the  tables 
are  turned,  and  the  man  becomes  the  victim, 
when  there  is  no  son,  but  a daughter.  Then  the 
go-between  seeks  a husband  who  will  give  up  his 
family  and  his  name  and  be  adopted  into  the 
family  of  his  bride.  Only  the  strongest  reasons 
can  compel  so  unnatural  an  arrangement,  and  oc- 
casionally, the  man,  happier  than  the  woman  in 
like  case,  breaks  away,  refusing  to  endure  the 
humiliation  consequent  upon  this  inversion  of 
natural  positions.  Nor  does  the  family  care  much 
though  he  go,  provided  the  end  has  been  secured 
and  there  is  a grandson  to  perpetuate  the  family 
name. 

It  is  only  of  comparatively  recent  date  that  there 
have  been  family  names.  A few  aristocratic 
names  go  back  to  the  Middle  Ages,  Minamoto, 


Merchants,  Women,  Servants  221 


Taira,  but  most  names  are  of  places — Foot  of  the 
Mountain,  Big  Mountain,  Foot  of  the  Valley, 
Above  the  Moor;  or,  among  merchants  and  arti- 
sans, the  place  whence  a man  comes  may  become 
his  designation,  or  he  may  be  known  by  his  occu- 
pation. The  formation  of  these  names  is  still 
going  on  in  the  same  line  of  development  which 
has  given  us  our  own,  though  the  names  of  trades 
seem  more  transient  and  not  so  prominent.  But 
even  a family  name  may  be  changed  without  cere- 
mony upon  some  eventful  occasion.  This  hap- 
pens far  too  often  in  history,  to  the  dismay  of  the 
student  who  comes  without  warning  upon  some 
one  of  whom  he  has  not  heard  only  to  be  told  by 
his  instructor  that  it  is  the  same  personage,  as 
if  Disraeli  should  become  Beaconsfield,  without 
note  or  comment.  As  a river  is  not  conceived  as 
an  entity  with  substantial  unity  from  source  to 
mouth,  but  changes  its  name  with  almost  every 
change  in  its  varied  course,  getting  new  names 
from  new  natural  objects  and  new  towns  and  pro- 
vinces, so  may  it  be  with  a man.  For  after  all, 
in  the  East,  the  unity  of  the  self  is  not  the  chief 
fact,  but  the  varying  stream  of  life. 

As  with  family  names  there  are  complications, 
still  more  with  personal  names.  The  individual 
has  a “true  name,”  around  which  a mystery 
gathers  and  which  is  used  only  on  certain  occa- 
sions of  ceremony.  Here  is  a survival  of  the 
widespread  ancient  belief  in  the  power  of  a name 
and  in  the  evil  which  may  be  wrought  by  one 


222  Japanese  Life 

possessing  it.  So  the  boy  has  another  name,  which 
usually  terminates  in  a numeral,  indicating  his 
number  in  a series,  as  a man  in  Toledo,  Ohio, 
long  ago  named  his  sons,  changing  the  family 
name,  Smith  One,  Smith  Two,  and  Smith  Three. 
Sometimes  a father  takes  syllables  for  the  names 
of  his  successive  sons  which,  combined,  form  a 
pun.  The  girls  are  named  from  flowers  and  trees 
and  other  natural  objects  of  grace  and  beauty. 
But  these  names  of  childhood  are  changed  when 
youth  approaches,  and  changed  again  and  again 
on  occasions  which  demand  commemoration. 
Besides,  there  are,  as  a matter  of  course,  nick- 
names, and  for  authors  pen  names,  and  for  artists 
brush  names,  with  other  variants  making  the 
subject  sufficient  for  a chapter  by  itself. 

The  servants  have  their  distinguishing  pe- 
culiarities, accounted  for  in  part  by  the  forms  of 
society.  The  position  in  the  household  is  not 
menial,  but  might  be  that  of  members  of  the 
family.  The  fact  that  the  wife  serves  her  hus- 
band and  that  he  addresses  her  as  he  speaks  to  the 
other  helpers  does  not  perhaps  indicate  so  much 
her  lowly  position  as  their  well- recognised  place. 
For  with  the  “status”  permanently  established 
there  is  less  need  of  self-assertion  and  of  artificial 
insistence  on  superiority.  Indeed  personal  service 
might  be  an  honour,  and  in  a feudal  state  direct 
attendance  on  a superior  is  the  reverse  of  hu- 
miliating. Visiting  an  ancient  school  of  the  unre- 
formed type,  the  boys  attended  to  all  my  wants, 


Merchants,  Women,  Servants  223 


and  when  I went  away  put  my  two  jin-riki-sha 
men  out  of  the  shafts  and  drew  me  in  triumph 
to  the  outskirts  of  the  town. 

In  a foreigner’s  household,  the  cook,  as  a 
Japanese  told  my  friend,  came  first  after  the 
master,  then  the  “boy,”  and  then  perhaps  the 
mistress.  In  any  case  the  men  servants  do  not 
like  to  take  their  orders  from  a woman,  and  in 
important  crises  the  master  must  be  brought  in. 
If  one  be  wise,  he  consults  the  cook  on  most  mat- 
ters belonging  to  the  home.  Thus  if  a new  serv- 
ant is  to  be  engaged  let  him  engage  her,  or  at  least 
consult  him,  for  if  the  newcomer — man  or  woman 
— does  not  suit  him  something  happens;  a parent 
dies,  or  there  is  some  illness,  or  at  least  some  mys- 
terious business  which  necessitates  withdrawal 
shortly  from  your  service.  Nor  can  one  readily 
find  out  the  truth,  for  it  is  always  simpler  and 
more  convenient  and  more  satisfactory  to  invent 
excuses  than  to  state  the  fact.  The  head  servants 
do  the  purchasing  and  levy  commissions,  squeezes, 
on  everything  which  enters  the  gate,  though  the 
master  purchase  it  himself.  The  limit  of  the  com- 
mission depends  upon  the  master’s  vigilance.  If 
time  be  more  precious  than  money  and  ease  than 
the  size  of  one’s  outgoes,  the  limit  is  not  readily 
reached.  We  have  known  households  who  cut 
the  expenditures  in  two  by  insisting  upon  an 
itemised  account  once  each  week.  But  if  there 
be  ordinary  care  the  gain  made  by  the  servants 
will  be  moderate,  and  no  more  than  the  extra 


224 


Japanese  Life 

price  charged  by  a shopkeeper  if  a man  of  posi- 
tion attempts  to  purchase  for  himself.  For  the 
tradesmen  must  be  watched  — all  articles  are 
adulterated  and  short  weights  are  common.  If 
the  servant  can  save  his  master  from  the  clutches 
of  the  tradespeople,  he  doubly  earns  his  squeeze. 

The  servants  are  organised  in  guilds,  cooks  and 
“boys”  and  coolies,  and,  for  all  one  knows, 
maids,  their  tradition  of  trades  unionism  being  im- 
memorial, inherited  very  likely  from  the  Chinese, 
who  are  past  masters  in  this  as  in  other  arts. 

With  service  cheap,  and  with  a race  that  loves 
its  leisure,  too  much  must  not  be  expected  in 
amount  of  work  or  punctuality.  With  servants, 
as  with  all  else,  it  goes  hard  with  the  foreigner 
who  attempts,  as  Kipling  has  it,  “ to  hustle  the 
East.”  Some  time  what  you  wish  will  be  accom- 
plished, “when  they  get  around  to  it,”  as  our 
American  countrymen  say;  tadaima  (presently), 
as  the  J apanese  express  it.  Perhaps  one  has  almost 
or  quite  forgotten  his  command,  but  done  at  last 
it  is,  after  a fashion.  Very  likely  it  is  just  as  good 
a fashion  as  our  own  and  the  time  suits  just  as 
well,  for  after  a while  one  accustoms  oneself  to 
easy-going  ways. 

A professor  in  the  old  university  told  me  that 
the  professors  were  always  an  hour  late,  and  when 
I asked  why  they  did  not  then  put  the  hour  for 
lectures  sixty  minutes  earlier  he  replied,  “Then 
they  would  have  been  two  hours  late.”  With 
such  illustrations  in  the  centres  of  light  and  lead- 


Merchants,  Women,  Servants  225 


ing,  no  wonder  that  the  underlings  take  life  easy 
and  work  when  the  convenient  season  has  arrived. 

For  the  rest,  they  are  like  servants  everywhere. 
Some  are  good  and  many  are  indifferent  or  bad. 
Some  are  good-natured  and  lazy,  and  some  are 
quick-tempered  and  strenuous.  Some  are  neat 
and  some  are  slovenly,  some  honest  and  some  sad 
rogues,  and,  in  short,  all  the  varieties  of  human 
nature  are  shown.  But  when  one  is  thoroughly 
fit,  fond  of  his  place,  well  treated  by  his  betters, 
trained  to  his  duties,  he  can  make  life  pleasant 
for  the  household,  and  in  his  easy-going  yet  suffi- 
cient way  smooth  out  the  uneven  places  and  make 
the  crooked  straight.  He  will  be  faithful,  too,  and 
hold  to  his  mistress  and  master  for  years,  following 
them  whither  they  go  and  sharing  their  fortunes 
like  the  member  of  the  family  which  he  is.  If 
occasionally  he  drinks  too  much  sake  and  comes 
to  his  rooms  a little  roisterous,  it  is  only  on  rare 
occasions  and  the  vision  of  his  master  checks 
undue  exhibitions  of  wrath  or  humour. 

The  fishermen  form  a world  by  themselves. 
On  a favourable  day  the  bay  of  Tokyo  is  white 
with  sails,  and  thousands  of  men  gain  their  liveli- 
hood by  gathering  the  never-failing  harvest  of  the 
sea.  Nowhere  else,  perhaps,  is  there  a fish  market 
of  such  variety  and  such  unlimited  quantity.  The 
fishermen  talk  a dialect  of  their  own,  not  under- 
stood by  other  folk,  but  they  comprehend  or- 
dinary talk  when  it  is  addressed  to  them.  They 
live  in  huts  along  the  shore,  or  often  on  their 


226 


Japanese  Life 

boats  and  are,  like  all  fisherfolk,  hardy,  daring, 
cheerful,  singing  songs  as  they  work,  and  appar- 
ently content  whether  the  fish  run  or  not,  whether 
they  are  blown  far  out  to  sea  or  are  snugly  in  port 
when  the  gales  blow.  In  them  Japan  has  an  end- 
less supply  of  unexcelled  material  for  its  navy  and 
its  merchant  marine. 

Possibly  the  most  interesting  form  of  their  con- 
flicts in  the  deep  is  in  Tosa.  At  a great  head- 
land in  the  season  they  keep  watch  for  whales, 
and  when  one  is  seen  an  army  of  fishermen  as- 
semble in  the  hope  that  it  will  go  with  the  current 
which  sets  around  the  headland  and  follows  the 
coast-line.  When  this  is  the  case,  the  fishermen 
launch  their  boats  with  a score  of  men  or  more  in 
each,  the  boats  provided  with  great  nets  of  strong 
rope  and  large  mesh.  One  is  spread  along  the 
route  the  whale  is  taking  and  left  to  float.  He 
sticks  his  nose  in  it,  becomes  tangled,  but  pushes 
obstinately  on  his  way.  A second,  a third,  a 
fourth  and  more  are  spread  before  him  until  he  is 
thoroughly  ensnared,  and  then,  when  he  is  wearied 
with  his  efforts  to  escape,  the  fishermen  catch  the 
ends  of  the  ropes  and  tow  the  monster  slowly  to- 
ward the  land,  until  at  last,  when  he  is  securely 
in  shallow  water  they  finish  him  with  spears. 
Then  an  orgy  ensues,  with  drink  in  superabun- 
dance for  the  fishermen,  as  they  cut  him  up  and 
feast  on  his  flesh;  for  in  Japan  the  flesh  of  the 
whale  is  esteemed  good  food,  my  own  experience 
recalling  tough  beefsteak  fried  in  a sardine  tin. 


Merchants,  Women,  Servants  227 


Besides  the  working  classes  there  are  parasites, 
beggars,  and  thieves.  Both  are  organised,  of 
course,  for  what  can  be  left  to  individual  initiative 
in  Japan!  The  beggars  have  their  king,  their 
rules,  and  their  divisions  of  territory  and  of 
spoils.  Often  forbidden,  they  still  continue  and 
thrive.  Especially  do  they  gather  near  the 
temples  at  festivals,  hoping  for  their  share  of 
pious  alms.  On  the  great  highway  also  they 
are  in  evidence,  showing  their  sores  and  telling 
their  piteous  tales,  precisely  like  their  fellows  in 
other  lands. 

The  thieves,  too,  have  their  guilds  and  their  de- 
grees. There  are  pickpockets  and  sneak- thieves 
and  highwaymen  and  burglars.  Sometimes  there 
is  an  epidemic  of  burglaries,  the  men  entering 
houses  at  night,  awakening  the  inmates,  threaten- 
ing them  with  swords,  and  compelling  them  to 
hand  over  their  valuables.  The  threats  are  not 
empty,  for  if  the  booty  be  suspiciously  small  they 
will  mutilate  or  even  kill  the  unarmed  inmates 
of  the  dwelling.  The  pickpockets  are  especially 
skilful,  and  rival  the  feats  of  their  most  famous 
brethren  of  Western  lands.  Sometimes  crimes  of 
peculiar  ferocity  are  committed,  and  of  great  ex- 
tent, as  when  a band  of  incendiaries  repeatedly 
fired  Tokyo,  that  they  might  find  a profit  in  thiev- 
ing during  the  general  confusion  and  alarm;  and 
murders  are  sometimes  committed  in  country  dis- 
tricts with  the  object  apparently  of  obtaining  a 
few  cents. 


228 


Japanese  Life 

The  police  are  as  clever  as  the  thieves.  We 
have  known  of  articles  stolen  in  Yokohama,  dis- 
covered by  the  police  and  returned  to  the  owner 
before  they  had  been  missed.  In  another  instance 
a lady’s  gold  watch  was  stolen  and  its  loss  re- 
ported to  the  police.  Months  went  by  with  no  re- 
turn, and  it  was  given  up  as  hopeless  when  finally 
it  was  brought  back.  Upon  being  questioned, 
the  police  explained  that  only  that  morning  it  had 
appeared  in  a pawn-shop,  the  thief  having  kept  it 
until  he  supposed  the  danger  of  discovery  was 
past.  The  detectives  hold  the  pawnbrokers  to 
strict  account  and  keep  the  sharpest  watch  upon 
the  Yoshiwara  and  other  places  where  men  go  for 
debauchery.  Often  men  are  placed  under  arrest 
in  Tokyo  because  they  spend  money  more  freely 
than  their  appearance  seems  to  warrant  and  can 
not  give  a clear  account  of  their  funds.  Almost 
certainly  after  a little,  a description  of  some  run- 
away comes  from  the  provinces.  So  the  prisons 
are  kept  full,  for,  to  quote  Confucius,  under  all 
governments  the  supply  of  rats  and  thieves  does 
not  fail. 

The  police  are  from  the  samurai  class  and  they 
magnify  their  office,  combining  with  their  execu- 
tive functions  a power  of  inquisition  which  is  half 
magisterial.  Their  control  of  a crowd  verges  on 
the  magical,  for  still  the  old  awe  of  authority  ob- 
tains. A slight  cord  stretched  across  a street  will 
hold  back  a vast  crowd,  and  a few  officers  with  a 
gesture  can  control  a multitude.  When  the  Km- 


Merchants,  Women,  Servants  229 


peror  gave  the  Constitution  to  the  Empire  in  1889, 
he  drove  out  of  the  Imperial  Palace  gates  in  a 
carriage  with  the  Empress  by  his  side.  The  crowd 
was  immense,  and  after  the  procession  had  passed 
it  flowed  in  a mighty  stream  towards  the  bridges 
leading  across  the  moats,  and  as  it  approached 
the  gateway  it  came  together  with  a constantly  in- 
creasing pressure.  In  the  midst  of  a crowd  were 
a foreigner  and  his  wife  in  a jin-riki-sha . The 
police  saw  the  evident  distress  on  the  face  of  the 
lady  and,  without  any  request,  told  her  they 
would  see  her  safely  out.  They  whipped  out 
their  swords,  and  in  a moment  there  was  a clear 
lane  between  the  solid  ranks,  down  which  the 
jin-riki-sha  was  pulled  by  the  two  coolies  in  per- 
fect ease  and  safety.  How  it  was  possible  for  so 
dense  a mass  to  follow  so  perfectly  the  word  of 
command  remains  a mystery. 

Nor  will  the  police  accept  of  gifts.  A friend, 
feeling  his  indebtedness  to  the  policemen  on  his 
station, — they  had  a tiny  house  just  at  his  corner, 
— sent  them  a steaming  pot  of  coffee  with  some 
simple  articles  of  hot  food  on  a cold  and  stormy 
night,  only  to  have  it  returned  with  the  message, 
“ We  are  not  permitted  to  accept  gifts.”  So  he 
appealed  to  the  higher  authorities  and,  gaining 
permission,  made  a custom  of  sending  in  refresh- 
ments on  especially  cold  or  stormy  nights.  Still 
less  are  the  police  accessible  to  bribes  or  gifts  of 
money,  though  they  are  paid  only  a pittance,  the 
ordinary  patrolman  getting  not  more  than  eight 


230 


Japanese  Life 

dollars  a month.  Yet  they  feel  themselves  worthy 
of  their  name  and  blood  and  like  their  ancestors 
are  a part  of  the  Government. 

It  is  one  of  the  illusions  of  foreigners  that 
fashions  do  not  change.  As  they  will  tell  you 
that  all  Japanese  look  alike,  and  even  that  China- 
men cannot  be  distinguished  from  Japanese  when 
clothed  alike,  so  the  customs  of  the  people  from 
year  to  year,  and  in  all  localities  look  unchang- 
ingly the  same.  But  not  to  the  Japanese  himself, 
to  whom  the  trifling  differences  assume  a larger  im- 
portance than  does  the  unchanging  mass.  Fashions 
change  in  Japan  also,  if  not  as  in  our  modern  days 
yet  as  in  the  same  state  of  society  in  Europe  in 
the  past.  For  fashions  change  most  rapidly  when 
they  are  the  changing  badge  of  wealth,  and  when 
social  status  ebbs  and  flows  and  people  are  known 
by  what  they  wear.  But  when  the  status  is  fixed, 
and  people  do  not  wish  to  change  their  state  or 
their  rank  or  to  seem  other  than  they  are,  then, 
since  there  is  no  danger  of  mistaking  rank,  fash- 
ions change  only  in  details,  slowly,  or  in  trifles. 
In  Japan  the  fashions  in  their  essentials  have  re- 
mained or  have  changed  only  with  really  chang- 
ing needs.  The  fashion  of  the  hair  which  had  to 
do  with  the  warriors’  head-gear  has  gone  wholly 
out  in  our  day  of  peace,  or  of  unarmoured  war. 
The  man  of  official  rank  wears  his  clothes  in  for- 
eign style,  as  becoming  modern  tasks,  though  he 
returns  to  his  native  undress  costume  for  his 
hours  of  ease.  B ut  apart  from  such  great  changes, 


A RESTING-PLACE  IN  THE  MOUNTAINS. 


Merchants,  Women,  Servants  231 


apparent  to  all  eyes,  there  are  smaller  changes: 
the  pattern  of  cloth  or  silk  procurable  this  year 
may  be  sought  in  vain  a twelvemonth  hence,  and 
the  way  of  tying  the  girdle,  the  pattern  of  the 
sleeve  and  the  neck-gear,  change  with  changing 
places  and  changing  times.  So,  too,  with  the 
dressing  of  the  hair:  it  is  not  only  that  certain 
styles  belong  to  certain  ages  and  may  not  be  af- 
fected after  some  fixed  date,  but  within  the  limits 
set  by  age  there  are  variations,  according  to  fash- 
ion’s whim. 

Nor  are  costumes  cheap;  relatively  to  income, 
the  Japanese  will  spend  as  much  on  the  adornment 
of  wife  or  child  as  does  his  Western  brother,  and 
the  fine  lady  wears  frock  over  frock,  sometimes  as 
many  as  six,  each  of  silk,  and  each  showing  a tiny 
edge  as  she  walks,  her  feet  pushing  aside  the  folds. 
The  change  to  foreign  fashions  among  women 
has  been  largely  confined  to  court  circles,  and 
with  a certain  want  of  adaptiveness,  at  least  to 
foreign  eyes,  has  this  advantage,  that  the  woman 
thus  gowned  acquires  with  the  foreign  costume  a 
consideration  from  the  men  that  is  wanting  when 
clad  in  native  garb. 

But  besides  fashions  in  dress,  there  are  fashions 
in  other  things,  fads,  we  should  call  them.  Long 
ago,  for  example,  in  the  beginning  of  the  Toku- 
gawa  days  there  was  a craze  for  quails,  and  men 
paid  large  prices  for  fine  or  rare  specimens,  which 
were  kept  as  pets.  And  in  the  modern  era  craze 
has  followed  craze  in  quick  succession,  animals 


232  Japanese  Life 

and  birds  and  flowers,  with  bicycles,  and  boating, 
and  manias  for  special  kinds  of  investments,  with 
now  and  then  gigantic  frauds.  To  be  in  fashion 
in  costume  and  amusements  is  no  other  in  Japan 
than  in  Western  lands. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


LANGUAGE,  LITERATURE,  AND  EDUCATION 
HE  life  of  a people  is  expressed  in  their  lan- 


guage, and  its  acquisition  is  like  getting  a 
new  sense  by  which  knowledge  is  gained  of  a new 
world.  The  Japanese  language  belongs  to  a 
group  of  which  it  is  the  most  important.  On  the 
continent  Korean  bears  it  resemblance,  though 
chiefly  in  grammatical  structure.  Besides,  there 
are  the  languages  spoken  in  the  little  group  of 
islands  called  Ryu  Kyu  (Loo  Choo),  to  the  south, 
but  beyond  these  all  regions  have  been  searched 
for  cognates  without  distinguished  or  certain 
success. 

The  language  is  polysyllabic,  and  in  general,  we 
may  say,  the  longer  the  word  the  more  honour- 
able it  is.  For  the  distinguishing  feature  of  the 
speech  is  its  construction  on  the  principle  of  a 
gradation  of  ranks  in  society,  so  that  you  and  I 
and  the  servant  and  our  friend  can  be  distinguished 
by  the  words  used  in  reference  to  each,  as  if,  talk- 
ing of  our  abodes,  I should  say  “ mansion,”  and  a 
little  later  “ hut.”  The  first,  of  course,  would  be 


233 


234 


Japanese  Life 

your  home,  and  the  second  mine,  and  this  entirely 
without  reference  to  their  relative  size  or  costli- 
ness. So,  were  you  to  go  to  town  it  would  be  a 
“ stately  proceeding,”  while  I should  simply  and 
humbly  “ go.”  When  verbs  and  nouns  can  thus 
be  associated  with  degrees  of  honour  it  is  manifest 
that  pronouns  are  superfluous.  When  I speak  of 
“ mansion”  and  “ hut,”  what  need  of  “ yours” 
and  “mine,”  especially  as  the  same  words  in  your 
mouth  will  indicate  the  opposite  abodes  ? Hence 
our  common  translation  of  the  Japanese  quite 
misrepresents  it.  They  do  not  say,  “ your  august 
abode,”  or  “your  honourable  tea,”  as  usually 
they  are  represented,  but  the  word  itself,  or  the 
word  with  its  honourific  prefix  contains  simply  the 
thought  of  ‘ ‘ you  ’ ’ and  ‘ ‘ yours,  * ’ as  the  humble 
word  or  the  omission  of  the  prefix  indicates  “me  ” 
and  ‘ ‘ mine.  ” So  by  and  by,  when  use  has  blunted 
the  edge  of  contrast,  one  speaks  Japanese  with- 
out a thought  that  his  dialect  is  stilted,  or  that 
the  pronoun  is  in  any  degree  a more  natural  way 
of  distinguishing  ‘ ‘ you ’ ’ and  “me”  than  are 
delicately  chosen  words. 

Then  one  wonders,  at  first,  to  be  told  there  is 
no  true  nominative  case,  and  that  transitive  verbs 
are  not  followed,  of  necessity,  by  an  object.  But 
one  soon  finds  the  fashion  simple,  and  its  strange- 
ness has  analogies.  We  were  taught  in  youth  to 
say,  precisely,  “I  beg  your  pardon,”  but  really  the 
pronouns  are  superfluous,  as  who  mistakes  the 
meaning  if  we  say,  “Beg  pardon”?  unless,  indeed, 


Language  and  Education  235 

there  be  confusion  and  it  is  not  quite  clear  who 
committed  the  offence,  nor  against  whom,  when 
one  may  say,  singling  out  from  an  implicated 
group,  4 ‘ / beg  your  pardon . ” So  the  J apanese  uses 
simply  the  verb,  “pardon,”  and  a substitute  for 
a pronoun  only  when  there  is  really  need.  Ex- 
tend the  instance  to  all  verbs  and  we  find  we  can 
dispense  with  multitudes  of  nouns.  “Struck,” 
“done,”  “sold,”  “dead,” — even  with  ourselves 
emphatic  and  colloquial  speech  takes  all  the  rest 
for  granted;  but  in  Japanese  these  are  not  ab- 
breviations of  more  than  doubtful  propriety  and 
wholly  undoubted  want  of  elegance,  but  they  are 
of  the  structure  and  nature  of  the  speech  itself. 
So  that  we  may  use  verbs  without  subjects,  and 
active  verbs  without  objects  unless,  as  before,  the 
subject  is  in  doubt,  when  we  go  round  about  as  if 
we  should  say  “ Concerning  the  Japanese  Lan- 
guage, difficult.”  So  we  announce  “concerning 
what”  we  speak,  and  continue  without  necessity 
of  nominative,  objective,  and  the  rest  in  every 
phrase. 

Stranger  yet  are  the  tenses.  The  student  learns 
his  past,  his  present,  and  his  future,  and  then  is 
surprised  to  hear  the  past  used  of  the  future  and 
the  future  of  the  past,  until  at  last  he  comes  to 
understand  that  the  present  is  the  real  tense,  used 
of  all,  and  that  his  past  tense  represents  certainty, 
and  therefore  is  usual  in  the  past,  although  his 
servant,  foretelling  his  obedience,  uses  it  unhesi- 
tatingly of  the  future;  and  that  the  future  is 


236 


Japanese  Life 


uncertain,  so  that  the  cautious  man  uses  it  of 
something  uncertain  to  his  knowledge  in  the  past. 
The  present,  too,  takes  on  its  real  significance,  as 
so  often  one  hears  a phrase  like  “It  is  that  one 
has  been  abroad.  ’ ’ 

Naturally  one  gets  on  without  gender  for  nouns, 
for  English  teaches  us  to  do  that  unless,  as  in 
Japanese,  for  some  reason  the  gender  must  be 
mentioned,  when  there  are  words  for  such  real  use. 
Number  falls  into  the  same  category,  for  in  cases 
innumerable  it  is  sufficient  to  use  the  word,  and 
singular  or  plural  is  plain  without  our  indicating 
the  fact.  When  the  youthful  student,  accustomed 
to  the  complexity  of  our  classic  grammars,  hears 
that  the  Japanese  has  neither  number,  gender,  nor 
case  he  rejoices  and  thinks  he  has  an  easy  task. 

After  a time — not  too  long  a time — he  is  unde- 
ceived, and  by  and  by  begins  to  wish  he  could 
trade  some  of  his  new  complexities  for  the  old. 
Sentences,  for  example,  which  can  have  no  relative 
pronoun,  but  must  put  all  qualifying  words  and 
phrases  before  the  word  qualified,  become  of  a 
length  and  a difficulty  which  make  him  feel  that 
the  Japanese  sentence,  like  the  Japanese  character, 
is  past  finding  out.  For  the  one  rule  of  syntax  is 
the  one  just  stated,  that  qualifiers  precede,  though 
prepositions  are  postpositions.  We  can  find 
analogies  in  plenty  for  clauses  which  condition 
without  the  relative,  as  we  may  say  the  murdered 
man  or  the  man  who  was  murdered,  but  the  rule 
with  the  Japanese  is  invariable.  Then,  not  to  be 


Language  and  Education  237 

technical,  nor  to  dwell  tediously  on  a subject 
which  is  dry  in  the  telling,  there  are  all  the  fine 
gradations  in  nouns  and  verbs  in  the  indication 
of  the  persons  speaking,  spoken  of,  or  addressed, 
and  the  innumerable  auxiliary  numerals  whose  use 
is  necessary,  as  if  every  word,  or  kind  of  word 
had  its  own  numeral  like  so  many  brace  of  fowls, 
and, — but  we  shall  stop,  referring  the  curious  to 
the  excellent  handbooks  on  the  colloquial  which 
will  show  in  what  unimagined  ways  our  common 
humanity  may  express  its  common  sentiments. 
Perhaps  we  may  end  with  one  further  remark 
that  though  Japanese  can  in  no  wise  be  translated 
literally  into  any  European  tongue,  still,  once 
learned,  it  contains  neither  impossibilities  nor  per- 
plexities, and  fits  itself  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  psy- 
chology and  expresses  an  American’s  ideas  as 
readily  as  the  thoughts  of  those  to  the  language 
born. 

But  when  one  has  got  so  far  he  has  just  begun. 
There  is  the  written  language  with  its  own 
grammar  and  vocabulary,  for  the  two  long  ago 
diverged,  and  the  unhappy  student  must  learn 
both  and  keep  both  distinct  in  memory  and  use. 
Then,  to  make  confusion  worse  confounded,  there 
is  the  ever-present  Chinese;  spoken  language, 
written  language,  and  Chinese,  and  still,  and  ever- 
more Chinese. 

It  is  true  the  Chinese  is  an  alien  element. 
Roots  decked  out  with  Japanese  terminations, 
governed  by  Japanese  postpositions,  separated  by 


238 


Japanese  Life 

Japanese  particles,  are  imbedded  in  the  tongue, 
but  follow  obediently  the  order  of  the  Japanese. 
Or  one  may  be  more  ambitious,  and  turn  to  litera- 
ture, which  omits  more  and  more  of  the  Japanese 
auxiliaries  and  order,  and  approaches  nearer  and 
nearer  to  Chinese  until  the  latter  is  fully  reached, 
and  one  by  insensible  degrees  has  arrived  at  the 
height  of  learning,  and  can  read,  or — rare  accom- 
plishment ! — possibly  write  the  foreign  language 
in  its  purity. 

There  has  been  reason  for  the  predominance 
of  Chinese,  a preponderance  which  no  change  in 
the  twentieth  century  seems  to  threaten.  First, 
because  in  antiquity  all  literature,  and  philosophy, 
and  law,  and  science,  and  theology  came  from 
China,  and  the  language  unlocked  the  great  store- 
house of  human  knowledge.  The  classics  were 
Chinese,  the  dogmatic  authorities  of  the  Buddhists 
were  in  Chinese,  and  the  masterpieces  of  literature 
were  Chinese.  So  the  boy  began  the  study,  and 
the  youth  continued  it,  and  the  man  completed  it, 
so  far  as  any  human  being  masters  the  infinite. 
Naturally,  after  the  fashion  of  students  the  world 
over,  he  filled  his  talk  with  the  words  and  phrases 
laboriously  acquired  until  the  gentleman  had  the 
Chinese  synonym  for  every  native  word  at  his 
tongue’s  end,  all  the  better  liked  for  being  wholly 
unintelligible  to  the  common  herd.  Strange 
fashion, — as  strange,  perhaps,  as  that  of  our  an- 
cestors who  used  L,atin  in  the  same  style,  and  for 
the  same  reasons,  and  to  the  same  ends. 


Language  and  Education  239 

But  besides  the  great  end  of  learned  speech — 
the  mystification  of  the  vulgar  and  the  cultivation 
of  one’s  superior  self-consciousness  the  Chinese 
really  has  other  uses.  Never  was  there  such 
another  tongue  for  compounds:  in  comparison 
Greek  is  difficult  and  German  clumsy.  Japanese 
with  its  circumlocutions  and  its  polysyllables  is 
simply  impossible,  but  Chinese  with  an  immense 
vocabulary  all  of  monosyllables  fits  the  scientific 
terminology  to  a nicety.  The  Japanese  form  com- 
pounds expressive  of  all  the  meanings  of  all  the 
technical  terms  in  all  the  sciences,  expressive, 
concise,  exact.  Again  and  again  one  is  aston- 
ished to  see  how  speedily  and  how  precisely  the 
product  would  be  formed.  Did  one  want  so  little 
as  the  name  of  a committee,  “ The  Committee  on 
the  Revision  of  the  Rules,”  out  it  would  come, 
Rules-revision-committee,  exact,  elegant,  express- 
ive, brief.  So  in  our  day  Chinese  flourishes,  for 
though  the  ancient  classics  have  lost  their  vogue, 
and  though  students  no  longer  pore  for  years  over 
the  masterpieces  of  literature,  still  compounds  in- 
numerable one  must  know  if  he  would  read  the 
papers,  or  understand  the  conversation  of  gentle- 
men. Possibly  the  self-flattery  of  foreigners  who 
know  the  language  in  its  different  forms — they  are 
very  few — is  not  without  its  warrant,  as  they  say 
that,  take  it  all  in  all,  its  native  complexities,  its 
foreign  additions,  its  enormous  vocabulary,  and 
its  immense  demands  upon  the  memory  for  form 
as  the  Chinese  ideograph  is  learned,  no  other 


240 


Japanese  Life 

single  job  on  earth  excels  for  difficulty  its  mastery. 
A distinguished  linguist  used  to  say  to  young 
missionaries  who  wished  pointers  on  learning  the 
language,  ‘ ‘ Stay  twenty  years  and  study  all  the 
time.”  Yet  he,  natural  linguist  and  unrivalled 
speaker  of  the  Japanese,  had  no  eye  for  form  and 
could  not  read  a newspaper  nor  a page  in  a native 
book. 

Education  in  Old  Japan,  as  will  be  readily  under- 
stood, was  studying  Chinese.  It  is  a vast  wilder- 
ness which  no  man  ever  can  explore,  yet  not  a 
wilderness,  for  it  is  cultivated  to  the  highest  de- 
gree, as  the  enthusiasm  and  industry  of  a marvel- 
lous race  have  been  expended  upon  it.  In  its 
higher  ranges  none  ever  calls  a spade  a spade. 
There  is  always  some  classical  or  poetical  allusion 
which  hints  the  implement.  Milton  at  his  worst 
is  a mere  tyro  in  comparison  with  a Chinese 
scholar  in  allusiveness,  so  that  to  understand,  the 
reader  must  have  Chinese  poetry  and  history  and 
literature  and,  above  all,  the  classics  at  his  com- 
mand. We  never  knew  a foreigner  who  could 
dispense  with  the  aid  of  a native  scholar,  and  the 
young  men,  Japanese,  of  the  modern  era  except  in 
the  most  extraordinary  instances  cannot  combine 
the  new  education  with  the  old.  In  the  olden 
times  in  the  nature  of  the  case  it  was  easier  to  be 
a pedant  than  a scholar.  All  the  training  tended 
to  check  originality,  and  to  destroy  initiative. 
The  rule  was  so  rigid  that  the  most  the  ordinary 
man  could  hope  for  as  the  outcome  of  his  years  of 


Language  and  Education  241 

application  was  the  ability  to  write  verses  which 
should  be  technically  correct.  The  writers  on 
the  “Way”  lament  the  misdirected  energy  of 
men  who  run  over  a multitude  of  books,  but  do 
not  fasten  their  minds  upon  principles,  scholars 
of  the  eye,  and  of  the  memory.  Naturally  enough, 
for  what  else  could  be  anticipated  from  the  sys- 
tem? So  was  it  in  Japan  and  so  is  it  in  China. 
The  intellects  of  the  nations  were  bound  by  a 
mass  of  traditions  enshrined  in  a medium  which 
had  a semi-sacred  character.  We  know  how 
powerful  is  the  influence  of  words  in  all  education 
and  how  impossible  it  seems  to  escape  the  tend- 
ency to  substitute  them  for  things,  so  that  the 
explanation  of  the  word  comes  to  be  the  explana- 
tion of  the  fact  for  which  it  stands.  But  with  the 
Chinese  system  of  education  this  tendency  is  de- 
veloped to  the  utmost.  If  one  asks  a scholar  of 
the  old  type  for  an  explanation  he  is  almost  cer- 
tain to  reply  by  an  analysis  of  the  ideograph  or 
an  account  of  its  history.  When  thus  he  has  ex- 
pounded the  nature  of  the  symbol,  he  takes  it  for 
granted  nothing  further  is  required.  This  tend- 
ency is  most  extreme  in  the  Chinese  philosophy, 
in  which  the  mastery  of  the  words  of  most  gen- 
eral import  has  carried  with  it  the  unquestioned 
belief  in  the  existence  of  the  things,  and  a com- 
plete realism  of  the  mediaeval  type  is  the  result. 

Here  and  there  some  mind  of  original  power 
escaped  in  a measure  the  influence  of  the  sys- 
tem, but  none  ever  wholly  escaped  it.  So  the 

16 


242 


Japanese  Life 

innovators  after  all  stood  well  within  the  old 
boundaries  and  were  unable  to  make  such  new 
departures  as  would  create  new  epochs  in  philo- 
sophy, literature,  or  science.  Thus,  though  we 
have  differences  corresponding  to  the  distinctions 
between  the  nominalists  and  the  realists  of  the 
Middle  Ages  in  Europe',  we  have  no  such  new 
outlook  upon  the  universe  as  is  given  by  the  in- 
ductive philosophy.  The  Chinese,  and  after  them 
the  Japanese,  never  went  at  first  hand  to  nature, 
but  at  third  and  fourth  remove  worked  with  ideas 
formulated  in  the  past,  and  with  their  shadows, 
the  shadows  of  shadows,  the  ideographs.  In  our 
judgment  the  want  of  greatness  in  such  long  pe- 
riods of  history  and  the  meagre  outcome  of  such 
vast  intellectual  labour  is  not  because  of  inherent 
weakness  in  the  Far  Eastern  mind,  but  in  the 
medium  used  for  literature,  and  the  unfortunate 
system  of  education  which  it  involved. 

The  literature  which  resulted  was  vast  and 
complicated.  The  Japanese  classify  it  under  six- 
teen heads,  in  which  we  shall  not  follow  them, 
remarking  that  the  divisions  contain  nothing  es- 
pecially strange  or  noteworthy.  But  when  we 
turn  from  classification  to  contents  there  are  re- 
semblances and  contrasts  to  our  kindred  kinds. 
The  histories  are  minute,  prolonged,  and  deadly 
dull,  and  worse,  they  are  untrustworthy.  From 
the  days  of  Confucius  history  has  been  regarded 
as  a means  for  moral  or  political  instruction,  that 
is,  it  is  morality  taught  by  example.  But  if 


Language  and  Literature  243 

through  the  perversity  of  facts  the  past  does 
not  show  the  virtuous  always  successful  and  the 
vicious  punished,  what  is  the  moralist  to  do? 
Why,  make  the  facts  fit  the  theory,  for  what 
should  be  surely  is.  So  did  Confucius,  falsifying 
unhesitatingly  his  facts  in  the  book  which  has 
come  down  to  us  under  his  name,  mistakenly,  I 
trust;  and  so  did  his  successors,  who  were  for  the 
most  part  moralists  or  courtiers.  Arai  Hakuseki 
tells  us  that  history  should  recount  only  those 
things  which  are  to  the  honour  of  the  men  of  the 
past,  and  a picture  shows  the  Prince  of  Mito  cor- 
recting the  historians  who  were  writing  the  great 
history  of  Japan,  not,  we  may  be  sure,  because 
they  were  not  true  to  the  facts,  but  because  they 
were  setting  forth  something  which  was  not  to  his 
purpose  or  his  taste. 

Dull  as  are  the  histories,  almost  duller  to  our 
notions  are  the  romances.  There  is  a long  string 
of  incidents  without  development  of  plot  or  analy- 
sis of  character.  Their  value  is  to  the  historical 
student  who  may  find  in  them  material  for  the  re- 
construction of  times  past.  To  the  same  class  be- 
long the  few  books  of  travel,  and  of  miscellanies, 
works  which  have  their  value  to  the  Japanese 
chiefly  because  of  the  beauty  of  their  style,  and  to 
the  foreigner  as  showing  the  life  and  thought  of 
the  people — furnishing  with  the  biographies  and 
rare  autobiographies  material  for  the  historian. 

Philosophy  there  is,  following  the  mutations  of 
the  Chinese  schools,  but  with  no  contribution  of 


244 


Japanese  Life 


its  own.  Buddhist  theology  is  in  vast  undigested 
masses,  only  a few  tiny  books  of  genuine  Japanese 
material  in  it  all,  and  there  are  Shinto  works  of 
late  date  in  which,  after  the  fashion  of  theological 
apologists  the  world  over,  the  writers  attempt  to 
prove  the  undoubted  divinity  of  their  own  notions 
and  to  confound  the  adversaries.  Then  there  are 
cyclopedias,  and  technical  works,  and  books  which 
appeal  to  collectors  of  antiques  and  of  curiosities, 
and  all  the  multitude  of  works  on  subjects  which 
belong  to  the  history  and  the  technique  and, 
above  all,  the  mystery  of  art. 

Poetry  deserves  a word,  for  it  is  almost  the 
only  distinctively  Japanese  production  in  the  list. 
There  is  also  Chinese  poetry  written  by  Japanese, 
but  in  some  mysterious  way  the  Japanese  verse 
managed  to  hold  its  own.  It  is  described  by  con- 
traries. In  its  pure  form  it  has  neither  rhyme  nor 
rhythm  nor  parallelism.  Some  poems  are  of  mod- 
erate length,  but  the  usual  verse  is  of  thirty-one 
syllables,  5,  7,  5,  7,  7.  Evidently  not  much  can 
be  accomplished  in  the  space,  especially  as  short 
Chinese  words  are  tabu,  and  the  Japanese,  as  we 
remember,  are  polysyllables.  But,  moreover,  as 
if  the  syllables  were  still  too  many,  meaningless 
words  are  employed  to  round  out  the  number, 
‘ ‘ pillow  words,  ’ ’ on  which  the  others  rest.  The 
poet  in  his  narrow  limits  and  bound  by  rigid  forms 
can  only  make  a suggestion,  sometimes  an  ex- 
clamation, and  let  the  mind  of  the  reader  do  the 
rest.  The  poem  hints  at  some  natural  subject, 


THE  PRINCE  OF  MITO  CORRECTS  A STATEMENT  IN  THE  HISTORY- 


Language  and  Literature  245 

the  list  is  as  limited  as  the  syllables,  and  through 
it  suggests  a thought  of  life,  or  love,  or  death,  or 
duty,  or  emotion,  or  beauty.  The  list  shows  by 
its  limitations  the  powerful  effect  of  tradition 
which  prevents  one  from  going  direct  to  nature  to 
see  with  his  own  eyes  and  to  hear  with  his  own 
ears;  thus,  though  the  moon,  the  flowers,  the  fall- 
ing leaves,  the  mist,  are  repeated  over  and  over, 
with  the  flight  of  birds  and  the  sound  of  insects, 
the  stars  are  quite  left  out. 

As  if  thirty-one  syllables  gave  too  great  lati- 
tude, a still  tinier  poem  is  made  of  seventeen  sylla- 
bles, 5,  7,  5,  a test  surely  of  poetic  ingenuity 
beyond  the  sonnet,  for  in  these  artificialities  the 
East  always  can  excel  the  West.  And  the  style 
of  education  is  perfectly  shown  in  the  fact  that 
all  educated  men  were  expected  to  write  verse,  a 
task  as  valuable  and  as  inspiring  as  the  writing 
of  Latin  verse  by  schoolboys  in  ‘ ‘ enlightened  ’ ’ 
lands.  The  illustration  may  fit  a wider  range, 
for,  extend  the  discipline  of  Latin  verse  over  the 
whole  range  of  education,  and,  mutatis  mutandis> 
you  have  the  spirit  and  the  method  of  Japanese 
education  in  the  past  and  of  Chinese  in  the 
present. 

But  with  the  coming  of  the  “Age  of  Enlighten- 
ment,” all  has  changed.  If  the  people  were  to  be 
educated  it  could  not  be  in  a system  which  should 
take  as  its  idea  the  writing  of  Latin  verse,  and  if 
the  favoured  few  in  earnest  were  to  master  the 
range  of  Western  science  they  could  not  spend 


246 


Japanese  Life 

years  in  mastering  the  turns  and  phrases  of  the 
endless  literature  of  the  past.  So,  in  the  day  of 
revolution,  the  old  education  was  swept  away  and 
the  ideals  of  the  nineteenth  century  were  intro- 
duced. A new  literature  springs  into  being — 
works  of  science,  essays,  novels,  theologies,  phi- 
losophies, translations,  and  adaptations  of  modern 
literature  in  Europe  and  America,  with  masses 
of  reviews,  magazines,  and  periodicals.  The 
newspapers  are  many  — partisan,  often  violent, 
frequently  afflicted  with  the  evils  of  our  most 
“yellow”  press,  with  scandals  and  libels  pecu- 
liarly their  own.  Unfortunately  the  Chinese  ideo- 
graph is  retained:  unfortunately,  for  it  is  prac- 
ticable to  write  the  Japanese  in  Roman  letters,  and 
before  the  full  benefit  of  the  great  advance  can  be 
felt  the  change  will  be  made,  else  inevitably  in 
literature  Japan  will  lag  behind. 

Every  child  must  go  to  school  when  it  is  six 
years  old.  It  learns  to  read  the  simple  Japanese 
syllabary  which  is  used  for  the  uneducated,  the 
Roman  letters,  and  the  Chinese  ideographs  which 
are  in  most  common  use.  Besides,  there  is  arith- 
metic, with  gymnastics,  a bit  of  manual  training, 
and  poetry.  The  tuition  is  paid  in  part  by  the 
parents,  say  four  cents  or  less  per  month,  and  part 
by  the  State,  the  average  cost  of  each  school  per 
year  being  less  than  three  hundred  and  fifty  dol- 
lars. As  the  teachers  are  men,  sometimes  with 
families,  they  are  wretchedly  underpaid  with  con- 
sequent inefficiency.  Parents  who  cannot  pay 


Language  and  Literature  247 

the  little  fee  may  have  it  remitted  on  application 
to  the  authorities  and  this  becomes  the  rule,  ele- 
mentary education  being  practically  free.  Evi- 
dently the  education  leaves  much  to  be  desired, 
and  the  child  whose  course  of  study  stops  with 
these  primaty  schools — and  the  vast  majority  go 
no  farther — knows  only  how  to  read  the  simplest 
books,  and  to  write  the  simplest  letter,  and  to  work 
such  simple  sums  as  may  serve  its  purpose  in  its 
very  diminutive  accounts  in  later  life.  It  gains 
no  real  outlook,  no  command  over  the  instruments 
of  knowledge,  and  no  ideal  for  future  efforts.  This 
is  true  even  if  the  child  be  favoured  with  a supple- 
mentary course  of  a year  or  two,  at  the  section 
added  to  the  primary  school,  for  in  it  the  work  is 
still  confined  to  subjects  which  deal  with  the 
simplest  things  in  the  simplest  life. 

Beyond  the  primary  schools  are  the  common 
middle  schools,  where  the  curriculum  embraces 
English,  the  Japanese  language,  a further  ac- 
quaintance with  Chinese,  elementary  mathe- 
matics, geography,  history,  physics,  chemistry, 
drawing,  and  zoology.  Five  years  are  given  to 
these  studies,  and  the  number  of  students  pursu- 
ing them  is  something  more  than  fifty  thousand, 
who  constitute  thus  the  lowest  order  in  the  intel- 
lectual aristocracy  of  New  Japan. 

Finishing  his  middle  common  school,  our  stu- 
dent may  enter  a high  school,  where  in  three 
years  more  he  can  be  prepared  for  the  university 
or  for  special  technical  schools.  In  this  higher 


248 


Japanese  Life 


course  he  carries  on  the  work  begun  in  the  lower 
schools,  fitting  himself  for  his  university  much  as 
in  Europe,  with  the  exception  of  Eatin  and  Greek, 
Chinese  furnishing  more  than  a full  equivalent 
for  the  discipline  of  the  dead  languages.  Accord- 
ing to  the  department  he  chooses,  the  student 
must  now  acquire  a working  knowledge  of  Eng- 
lish or  German,  or  both.  On  graduation  he  can 
enter  the  university  without  examination,  but  the 
graduates  are  few,  for  only  some  five  thousand 
students  advance  to  entrance  in  this  grade. 

The  universities  are  two,  one  in  Tokyo  and  one 
in  Kyoto,  the  former  only  being  fully  organised.  It 
has  a large  faculty,  and  more  than  three  thousand 
students  in  six  colleges:  literature,  science,  law, 
medicine,  engineering,  and  agriculture.  In  addi- 
tion is  the  university  hall  for  graduate  students 
engaged  in  original  research.  The  students  dress 
in  uniform,  and  are  in  large  part  provided  for  by 
the  State.  The  university  opens  to  its  graduates 
careers  in  the  Government  and  in  the  professions, 
and  fitly  crowns  the  educational  edifice. 

Besides  this  regular  system,  there  are  other 
schools,  normal,  technical,  and  private.  Some  of 
them  have  exerted  power  second  only  to  the  uni- 
versity, perhaps  not  second  to  it,  for  the  graduates 
of  the  great  institution  established  by  Mr.  Fuku- 
zawa  are  found  in  all  the  important  departments 
of  public  activity  profoundly  influencing  the 
course  of  events.  Several  of  the  mission  schools 
also,  notably  the  Do-shi-sha , founded  by  Mr. 


Language  and  Literature  249 

Nishima,  have  been  highly  influential  through 
the  prominence  and  the  activity  of  their  graduates. 
And  once  more,  a large  number  of  young  men 
have  been  educated  abroad  in  the  schools,  colleges, 
and  universities  of  America  and  Europe,  there 
being  clubs  in  Tokyo  composed  exclusively  of 
graduates  of  foreign  institutions. 

Education  for  women  is  not  so  far  advanced. 
The  proportion  in  the  common  schools  is  small, 
only  five-eighths  as  many  girls  as  boys.  And  in 
the  higher  schools  the  number  grows  rapidly 
less,  even  in  comparison  with  the  males.  In  the 
university  there  are  none,  but  excellent  private 
schools  for  girls  have  been  established.  In  this, 
as  in  much  else,  the  missions  were  pioneers,  one 
of  the  best  results  of  their  activity  being  the  in- 
citement of  the  Japanese  to  imitation  and  rivalry. 

Students  as  a class  are  only  too  diligent  and 
are  free  from  the  pranks  of  Western  boys.  Yet 
none  the  less  at  times  their  teachers  find  them 
difficult  to  deal  with.  It  is  not  only  that  they 
are  impatient  of  the  slow  steps  of  the  ordinary 
lines  of  our  educational  processes  and  are  eager  to 
reach  the  end  at  once,  nor  that  their  interest  turns 
too  lightly  from  topic  to  topic  so  that  they  are 
ready  to  leave  one  half-mastered  for  a new  one 
just  discovered,  but  more  because  they  are  hero- 
worshippers,  and  the  supply  of  heroes  is  limited. 
So  long,  then,  as  their  teacher  retains  their  con- 
fidence and  holds  their  imagination,  he  will  find 
them  docile  and  ready  to  follow  where  he  leads; 


250 


Japanese  Life 

but  the  instant  they  find  him  out  to  be,  after  all, 
only  the  ordinary  man,  and  when  with  this  dis- 
covery they  think  they  possess  all  which  he  can 
teach,  rebellion  follows.  Moreover,  the  elders, 
themselves  incompetent  to  judge  the  educational 
situation,  support  the  students,  so  that  time  after 
time  meritorious  teachers,  Japanese  and  foreign, 
have  lost  their  positions  because,  through  no  fault 
of  their  own,  their  students  in  rebellion  have  been 
supported  by  parents  and  authorities.  A funda- 
mental principle  of  government  is  this:  that  the 
superior  man  governs  not  by  rules  but  by  his  influ- 
ence. If,  then,  disorder  breaks  forth,  it  is  proved 
from  the  fact  that  he  is  not  superior,  and  hence, 
even  without  error  of  his  own,  his  place  is  lost. 

It  has  been  customary  for  men  to  gather  groups 
of  students  about  themselves,  the  students  dwell- 
ing in  their  houses  and  supported,  perhaps  en- 
tirely, by  their  patron,  who  lectures  to  them 
occasionally  and  oversees  their  studies  and  pro- 
vides them  teachers.  In  a number  of  instances  in- 
dividuals have  established  large  schools  partly  on 
this  plan  and  partly  supported  by  the  payments 
of  the  students.  Even  when  the  student  receives 
all  of  his  support  in  this  fashion,  there  is  little 
sense  of  humiliating  dependence,  but  the  feeling 
of  a reciprocal  favour  conferred,  for  the  man  of  in- 
fluence and  position  owes  a duty  to  society,  and 
the  student  has  a claim,  not  only  for  existence, 
but  for  training,  that  he,  too,  may  become  a factor 
in  the  State.  As  the  samurai  for  generations  lived 


Language  and  Literature  251 

on  allowances  from  the  Government,  and  as  in  re- 
turn they  were  expected  only  to  give  their  services 
as  might  be  required,  and  as  they  were  taught 
to  expect  the  highest  education  for  the  mind  as 
well  as  the  best  training  for  the  body,  they  came  to 
accept  all  as  a matter  of  course.  Sometimes  for- 
eigners have  charged  the  Japanese  with  ingrati- 
tude because  of  their  seeming  unconsciousness  of 
benefits  received,  and  it  is  true  that  a Japanese 
may  be  taken  into  a family,  treated  almost  like  a 
son,  and  yet,  at  some  later  time  leave,  making  no 
sign  of  thankfulness.  Yet  there  may  be  gratitude, 
for  let  him  feel  that  he  has  received  training  for 
the  mind  or  soul  or  body  which  fits  him  for  his 
place  and  he  will  carry  the  sense  of  his  profound 
obligation  with  him  to  his  death. 


CHAPTER  XV 

TOKYO 

KYOTO  is  the  representative  of  Old  Japan; 

made  the  capital  of  the  Empire  in  the  eighth 
century,  it  was  laid  out  after  the  Chinese  fashion 
in  formal  regularity,  and  adorned  with  all  the  re- 
sources of  art.  After  more  than  a thousand  years 
it  is  still  the  most  beautiful  city  in  the  Far  East; 
but  its  life  has  departed  and  it  is  no  longer  a factor 
in  the  activities  of  the  nation.  Government,  com- 
merce, literature,  the  interests  of  ambitious  men 
centre  in  Tokyo,  while  the  sister  city  has  only 
the  empty  title  “ Western  Capital,”  the  memories 
of  the  past,  and  the  affection  of  lovers  of  the  an- 
tique, the  beautiful,  and  the  unusual.  It  is  the 
delight  of  the  aesthetic  tourist,  and  many  regret 
that  all  Japan  has  not  remained  unchanged  so  that 
it  might  add  its  picturesque  variety  to  a world  be- 
come monotonously  alike. 

But  Japan  does  not  desire  to  offer  attractions  to 
the  traveller  as  her  chief  end,  but  seeks  a worthy 
place  in  the  world  so  that  she  will  not  be  looked  at 
as  a curiosity,  but  will  be  desired  as  a friend  or 


252  ' 


253 


Tokyo 

feared  as  a foe,— that  is,  the  Japanese  looks  at  life 
precisely  as  does  the  American.  So  he  who 
would  study  the  real  Japan  and  know  its  purposes 
and  powers  must  not  linger  in  Kyoto,  but  must 
go  to  Tokyo. 

The  town  is  modern,  becoming  of  importance 
only  in  1590,  when  Tokugawa  Ieyasu  made  it  his 
capital.  He  and  his  successors  built  a huge  castle, 
and  forced  the  barons  to  build  mansions,  some 
within  the  castle  enclosure,  and  merchants  and 
artisans  to  come  from  Kyoto  and  Osaka.  Thus  the 
town  was  furnished  with  inhabitants.  The  spaces 
outside  the  castle  for  the  most  part  were  filled  with 
cheap  shops  and  dwellings,  of  the  lightest  con- 
struction, with  roofs  of  shingles,  boards,  or  thatch. 
In  the  eighteenth  century,  tiles  replaced  the  more 
inflammable  roofing,  and  storehouses  of  mud  fur- 
nished protection  against  the  ravages  of  the  con- 
stant conflagrations.  A number  of  straggling 
villages  were  joined  into  a city,  the  whole  mak- 
ing a tangled  mass  of  confused,  narrow,  crooked 
streets  without  plan  or  symmetry. 

With  comparatively  few  alterations,  the  town 
still  retains  these  characteristic  features,  the  names 
of  the  ancient  villages  remaining  to  designate 
different  quarters  and  the  same  names  of  streets 
repeated  over  and  over.  The  palace  of  the  Em- 
peror occupies  the  centre  of  the  castle  by  the  side 
of  the  beautiful  garden  made  for  the  pleasure  of 
the  Shogun  : within  the  moats  the  mansions  of  the 
daimyo  are  replaced  by  the  commonplace,  modern 


254 


Japanese  Life 

structures  erected  for  the  departments  of  the  Gov- 
ernment and  for  the  Parliament:  some  of  the 
feudal  mansions  scattered  throughout  the  city 
have  been  destroyed  and  others  have  given  way 
to  institutions  of  the  new  era,  one,  Kaga,  to  the 
elaborate  buildings  of  the  university,  and  another, 
Mito,  to  the  arsenal,  with  its  ancient  garden, 
which  was  planned  by  a refugee  Chinaman,  still 
preserved  in  its  unrivalled  beauty. 

The  other  changes  are  also  utilitarian : the  outer 
wall  of  the  castle  has  been  levelled  and  the  moat, 
where  the  lotus  grew,  has  been  filled  to  make 
place  for  a tram;  some  streets  are  straightened  and 
others  widened,  and  one  is  lined  with  shops  built 
in  modified  European  fashion,  and  railway  sta- 
tions are  already  a common  feature  of  the  town. 
But  as  one  looks  across  the  wide  expanse  of  roofs 
from  an  eminence,  or  drives  through  the  inter- 
minable miles  of  streets  with  the  low  shops  and 
dwellings  of  grey,  unpainted  wood,  notwithstand- 
ing electric  lights,  and  postmen,  and  policemen  in 
modern  uniform,  he  feels  that  the  talk  of  progress 
is  exaggerated  and  that  the  town  is  now  as  it  ever 
has  been  save  that  the  picturesque  features  are 
gone,  leaving  only  the  commonplace. 

The  tourist  soon  tires:  the  modern  structures 
are  not  interesting,  and  for  the  rest  the  park 
in  Shiba,  with  its  mortuary  shrines  for  the  dead 
Shoguns , is  at  one  end  of  the  town,  and  the 
park  in  Ueno,  with  more  mortuary  shrines  and 
the  museum,  at  the  other,  and,  besides,  the 


THE  MOAT,  WHERE  THE  LOTUS  GREW, 


255 


Tokyo 

great  Buddhist  temple  in  Asakusa,  the  Shinto 
shrine  at  Kudan,  the  garden  at  the  arsenal,  the 
tombs  of  the  forty-seven  ronin , — many  a man  has 
gone  the  rounds  in  a day,  and  many  another  has 
found  two  days  too  long  and  has  hastened  away 
to  Nikko  or  Myanoshita  or  Kyoto  in  search  of 
something  more  attractive  to  a man  of  taste. 

Yet  is  the  town  full  of  absorbing  interest.  It 
has  its  stories  of  the  past  with  their  enchant- 
ments of  history  and  romance,  and  still  more  the 
throbbing  life  of  the  present,  for  here  is  the  work- 
ing out  of  one  of  the  most  vital  problems  of  our 
age.  In  Japan  all  ways  lead  to  Tokyo,  and 
hither  come  ambitious  youth  from  the  provinces. 
Here  are  the  Court  of  the  Emperor,  the  Parlia- 
ment, the  heads  of  the  Government,  the  most 
active  politicians,  the  editors  of  the  great  news- 
papers, the  men  famous  in  literature  and  science 
and  commerce;  famous  wrestlers,  and  actors,  and 
jugglers,  and  geisha,  with  the  tea  houses  and  gar- 
dens everywhere  talked  about,  and  shops  and  mu- 
seums and  all  the  activities  and  amusements  of  the 
past  and  present  to  be  found  by  him  who  looks  for 
them.  They  must  be  looked  for,  since  there  is 
nothing  like  the  display  and  movement  of  a capital 
of  one  of  the  fourth-rate  kingdoms  of  the  West, 
no  great  park  or  avenue  where  one  may  see  the 
world,  or  opera  where  society  displays  itself,  or 
great  social  functions  for  wealth  and  vanity.  New 
Japan  has  not  had  time  to  develop  a world  of 
amusement  and  of  fashion.  Society  is  official,  a 


256 


Japanese  Life 

certain  grade  admitting  to  the  presence  of  the  Em- 
peror and  ensuring  invitations  to  dinners,  balls, 
and  fetes.  These  seem  perfunctory,  another  duty 
to  be  performed,  another  foreign  custom  to  be 
adopted,  but  alien  to  the  real  life,  something  be- 
longing to  the  new  routine,  like  the  uniform  and, 
like  it,  to  be  discarded  when  the  work  is  done. 
Even  a garden  party  at  the  palace  is  like  a thou- 
sand similar  functions  in  other  lands  (gentlemen 
will  wear  frockcoats,  the  cards  direct,  in  English 
and  Japanese)  save  for  a glimpse  of  palace  ladies 
at  a distance  in  brilliant  Oriental  magnificence,  and 
the  matchless  beauty  of  the  chrysanthemums;  and 
a disquieting  rumour  reaches  me  that  now  not 
only  the  Empress  but  all  the  ladies  of  the  palace 
on  these  occasions  wear  Parisian  gowns. 

The  new  life  does  not  yet  adjust  itself  to  the  old. 
Two  distinguished  Americans  were  at  a dinner  in 
the  Maple  Tree  Inn,  a club  devoted  still  to  the 
purest  ways  of  Old  Japan  (though  the  last  time  I 
saw  it  it  had  electric  lights!),  where  they  could 
neither  sit  upon  their  feet,  being  great  of  girth, 
nor  find  a chair.  So  they  were  put  on  the  boards 
for  go,  eight  inches  high,  knees  level  with  chins, 
in  evening  clothes,  with  stockinged  feet  covered 
with  napkins,  for  at  dinner  in  society  the  feet 
should  not  be  seen,  but  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
feast  the  napkins  were  clutched  and  waved  in  the 
air  as  the  guests  arose  like  giants,  in  cotton  socks, 
to  make  a few  remarks.  So  in  a score  of  instances 
old  and  new  do  not  agree,  but  it  is  not  by  the  lu- 


257 


Tokyo 

dicrous  misfits  of  customs  and  costumes  that  we 
are  to  judge  Japan.  Nor  yet  by  the  old  life  which 
still  remains.  On  the  hills,  a little  withdrawn 
from  the  crowded  streets  of  shops  and  common 
folks,  are  quiet  avenues  and  peaceful  lanes  bor- 
dered with  walls  fringed  with  trees  and  vines, 
with  elaborate  gateways  through  which  we  catch 
glimpses  of  gardens  and  dwellings,  homes  where 
is  a life  such  as  we  found  in  Kochi,  though  more 
elaborate,  as  befits  the  metropolis.  Even  if  there 
be  a foreign  mansion  the  true  home  is  in  the  semi- 
detached native  dwelling  in  the  rear,  for  Kyoto 
itself  is  not  truer  to  the  ways  of  Old  Japan. 

Without  formal  society,  associations  are  with 
groups  of  friends,  in  clubs,  and  tea  houses  and 
gardens  for  men,  while  the  ladies  are  expected  to 
find  their  friends  in  their  husband’s  family  and 
their  enjoyments  chiefly  within  the  confines  of 
house  and  garden.  Such  homes  and  pleasures  re- 
peat the  experiences  of  ages  past,  modified  only 
slightly  by  the  new  era.  Said  the  wife  of  a promi- 
nent statesman,  in  a time  of  great  political  unrest, 
when  her  husband’s  life  was  threatened  and  she 
never  knew  in  the  morning  as  he  went  to  the 
Parliament  whether  he  would  return  alive:  “I  do 
not  know  why  his  life  is  threatened,  nor  what  he 
is  contending  for.  I can  only  stay  at  home  and 
pray  and  weep.” 

Nor  shall  we  find  modern  Japan  in  the  amuse- 
ments or  the  pleasures  of  the  people.  The  theatre, 

it  is  true,  is  in  part  reformed  and  saved  for  respect- 
17 


258  Japanese  Life 

ability,  and  the  people  go  third  class  in  the  rail- 
way trains,  and  not  toilsomely  afoot  on  pilgrimages, 
but  still  the  great  religious  festival  is  in  honour  of 
a rebel  against  an  emperor,  a criminal  remembered 
and  worshipped  for  his  strength  and  daring,  the 
most  frequented  shrine  is  to  the  memory  of  one 
who  killed  himself  and  his  mistress,  while  the 
Yoshiwara  is  the  most  famous  place  of  amuse- 
ments, its  establishments  advertising  in  the  papers 
and  sending  touts  to  meet  trains  at  the  stations. 
If  one  sees  a procession,  the  firemen,  or  an  asso- 
ciation of  guilds,  or,  better,  some  great  religious 
festival  with  gorgeous  floats  and  fantastic  images, 
and  mummers,  and  throngs  of  shouting,  pushing, 
red-faced  men,  or  if,  visiting  the  most  popular 
temples,  he  observe  how  the  worship  of  Venus  is 
side  by  side  with  the  worship  of  Buddha,  or,  not 
to  continue  the  list,  if  one  be  present  when  the  city 
is  stirred  as  by  the  attempt  upon  the  life  of  Count 
Okuma,  and  learns  that  the  assassin  had  a dozen 
funerals,  even  a lock  of  hair  being  thought  worthy 
of  that  honour,  he  shall  think  the  “Age  of 
Enlightenment  ’ ’ only  a name,  and  he  may  be 
inclined  to  put  the  nation  into  the  class  of  un- 
changing Asiatic  powers,  with  merely  an  especial 
power  of  imitation. 

New  Japan  lives  and  moves  in  none  of  these, 
but  in  the  group  of  men  who  have  guided  its 
course  in  the  last  thirty  years;  not  merely  the 
statesmen  in  power,  but  the  statesmen  in  opposi- 
tion, with  the  teachers  and  authors  and  editors 


259 


Tokyo 

and  scientists  and  great  merchants  and  soldiers. 
Altogether  the  men  are  not  many  compared  with 
the  millions  of  the  people,  but  in  them  and  in  men 
like  them  is  the  hope  for  the  future.  What  they 
have  accomplished  the  world  knows.  While  I 
write  comes  the  further  proof  from  Manchuria 
of  the  completeness  of  their  success  on  the  field 
where  fate  knows  neither  Asiatic  nor  European, 
but  victory  follows  the  battalions  which  are  best 
trained  and  handled.  It  is  a marvellous  achieve- 
ment, but  it  only  illustrates  what  has  been  accom- 
plished in  other  departments  of  life  and  work:  and 
we  have  patronised  them,  as  if  any  one  of  us,  the 
humblest  foreigner,  were  competent  to  instruct 
and  criticise! 

As  the  generals  of  Japan  hold  their  own  and 
more  against  Russia’s  best,  so  have  its  diplomats 
proved  their  equality  with  their  peers  from  all 
lands.  Years  ago  a friend  who  had  exceptional 
opportunities  for  judging  at  first  hand — a man 
who  was  not  given  to  overmuch  praise  of  the 
Government,  having  his  personal  grievance — 
said  to  me : “ The  foreign  ministers  are  wholly 
unable  to  cope  with  the  native  statesmen . ’ * There 
were  exceptions,  but  the  governments  were  in 
grievous  error  which  supposed  that  any  one  would 
do — any  chance  politician — for  a mission  to  the 
Orient. 

The  statesmen  proved  their  qualities  by  their 
power  of  self-control  and  their  patience.  Not  only 
their  contemptuous  treatment  by  foreigners  invited 


260 


Japanese  Life 

haste,  but  still  more  the  impatience  of  their  coun- 
trymen. Again  and  again  the  nation  protested 
against  delay,  a protest  urged  with  the  assassin’s 
bomb  and  sword,  and  attempted  to  force  action  at 
once  and  at  any  cost.  The  men  in  control  were 
called “ opportunists”  without  patriotism,  princi- 
ples, or  care  for  anything  but  the  spoils  of  office. 
But  they  did  not  falter  in  their  immense  task, 
seeking  to  make  Japan  respected  abroad  and 
worthy  of  respect  at  home.  They  yielded  to 
neither  danger, — they  did  not  follow  radical 
counsels  and  act  at  once  according  to  theory,  nor 
did  they  give  over  effort  and  let  well  enough 
alone;  but  they  persevered  and  were  content  to 
do  the  next  thing  as  opportunity  offered,  a kind 
of  politics  best  adapted  to  the  exigencies  of  a 
transition.  The  leaders  of  the  opposition  were, 
like  themselves,  ready  to  take  advantage  of  every 
opening  and  to  use  all  means  for  the  furtherance 
of  their  ends.  So  it  has  been  easy  for  the  parties 
to  coalesce,  not  only  in  times  of  national  peril  but 
for  many  common  ends. 

Politics  are  too  much  centred  in  loyalty  to  indi- 
viduals, so  that  it  is  easier  to  form  groups  than 
parties.  Yet  we  may  readily  understand  the 
great  issues  which  have  been  the  chief  subjects 
of  dispute.  The  first  great  movement  after  the 
overthrow  of  the  feudal  system  was  the  with- 
drawal of  General  Saigo  from  the  coalition,  and 
the  consequent  Satsuma  rebellion.  It  was  purely 
personal,  the  outcome  of  disappointed  ambition. 


26 


Tokyo 

Then  came  the  formation  of  the  Liberal  League, 
under  the  leadership  of  Count  Itagaki.  It  de- 
manded the  immediate  establishment  of  a Parlia- 
ment with  a responsible  ministry  after  the  English 
fashion.  Allied  with  the  Liberals  in  general  aims, 
but  often  antagonistic  in  tactics  were  the  Progres- 
sives, organised  by  Count  Okuma.  In  1889  the 
Parliament  was  established,  but  the  ministry  was 
made  dependent  on  the  Emperor,  that  is,  the  op- 
position declared,  upon  the  bureaucracy.  Then 
ensued  struggles,  with  intrigues,  and  temporary 
coalitions,  and  accusations,  and  all  the  accom- 
paniments of  modern  parliamentary  strife,  and 
slow  progress  towards  the  goal,  government  by 
the  lower  House  of  the  Parliament  though  a party 
majority.  Only  when  the  nation  faces  foreign 
foes  is  the  strife  forgotten,  as  all  for  the  time  are 
united  by  patriotic  fervour. 

Important  as  is  the  Government  and  invaluable 
as  has  been  its  leadership,  politics  has  been  by  no 
means  the  only  field  in  which  the  intelligence  and 
patriotism  of  the  samurai  have  displayed  them- 
selves. They  have  created  educational  institu- 
tions, and  a literature,  for  the  regeneration  of  a 
nation  cannot  be  exclusively  the  work  of  the 
Government;  and  the  orators,  teachers,  editors, 
and  authors  have  formed  the  public  sentiment 
which  makes  New  Japan  not  merely  the  in- 
strument of  a class  of  ambitious  men  but  the 
true  expression  of  the  aspirations  of  a people. 
How  completely  this  new  life  has  permeated  the 


262 


Japanese  Life 


multitude  is  shown  in  the  war  with  Russia,  which 
excites  the  passionate  enthusiasm  of  peasants  and 
of  coolies,  as  of  officers  and  samurai . 

The  new  spirit  enters  even  the  retired  homes  of 
the  aristocracy,  so  that  ladies  take  part  in  public 
functions;  led  by  the  Empress  they  hold  bazaars 
for  the  support  of  hospitals,  organise  societies  in 
connection  with  the  Red  Cross  organisation,  and 
take  an  active  interest  in  the  higher  education  of 
women.  The  men,  too,  give  expression  to  the 
new  spirit  by  societies  for  the  promotion  of  purity 
of  life  and  for  the  formation  of  higher  ethical 
standards  of  living.  New  ideals  are  set  forth  and 
a more  worthy  social  organisation  sought. 

Even  from  the  ranks  of  the  common  people  in- 
dividuals prove  themselves  possessed  of  the  spirit, 
the  intelligence,  and  the  capability  of  the  samurai . 
For  the  gentry  formed  no  caste  distinguished  by 
different  blood  or  race,  but  were  merely  represent- 
ative Japanese,  and  the  time  may  come,  as  Count 
Itagaki  dreams,  when  the  whole  people  will  be 
their  equals  in  intelligence  as  now  in  patriotism 
and  rights. 

Kyoto  contrasts  with  Tokyo  as  the  past  with 
the  present.  The  former  is  beautiful,  but  it  is 
finished;  it  is  rich  in  achievement,  but  without 
promise  for  the  future.  It  remains  the  joy  of  all 
who  love  Japan  because  it  is  so  unlike  the  West, 
so  unspoiled  by  crude  minglings  of  Oriental  with 
Occidental,  so  novel,  so  content,  so  apart  from 
the  strife  and  the  aspirations  of  the  modern  world. 


263 


Tokyo 

In  the  background  one  seems  to  see  the  inter- 
minable eras  of  the  East:  Japan  in  its  beginnings 
with  its  belief  in  its  land  begotten  by  the  gods, 
with  its  strange  love  for  the  marvellous  and  its 
worship  of  the  mysterious,  with  its  emotionalism 
and  its  artistic  instincts  not  yet  come  to  develop- 
ment: and  to  this  was  brought  the  religion  of 
India,  enriched  by  a thousand  years  of  existence, 
by  its  travel  through  continents,  and  by  the  medi- 
tations and  the  fancies  of  millions  of  votaries. 
It  gave  to  Japan  the  universe  of  the  imagination 
and,  instead  of  the  narrow  province  of  Yamato, 
extended  existence  through  countless  worlds  and 
ages.  It  brought  the  philosophy  of  India  and 
literary  traditions.  Combined  with  these  were 
the  ethics  and  the  philosophy  and  literature  and 
the  civil  organisation  and  the  social  etiquette  of 
China.  The  East  in  its  immensity  and  its  vast 
antiquity  served  Japan,  and  Japan  wrought  with 
the  material  thus  furnished,  producing  through 
its  native  genius  the  civilisation  which  remains 
unique  and  beautiful. 

The  spirit  of  Asia  has  accomplished  its  mission: 
it  has  no  further  great  gift  to  bestow  upon  the 
world.  Man’s  mind,  overpowered  by  nature,  has 
failed  to  master  it,  therefore  it  has  retired  upon 
itself  and  has  sought,  in  its  own  concepts,  imagina- 
tions, retrospections,  and  hopes,  to  find  reality. 
Had  man  no  other  methods  and  no  other  instru- 
ments this  were  his  final  achievement.  Japan 
gives  to  us  Asiatic  civilisation  in  its  most  finished 


264 


Japanese  Life 

and  perfect  form,  but  it  also  shows  us  that  with- 
out the  introduction  of  new  motives  and  the  use 
of  new  methods  there  is  nothing  more  to  hope. 
The  palace  at  Kyoto  is  vacant;  its  garden  is  the 
resort  only  of  the  curious,  and  its  structure  is  the 
copy  of  numberless  edifices  which  have  preceded 
it.  It  is  the  monument  of  a completed  history, 
but  for  the  future  men  turn  away  from  the  rich 
plain,  surrounded  by  great  mountains,  where  the 
Japanese  race  so  long  found  its  centre,  to  the  new 
residence  of  the  Emperor,  Tokyo. 

Tokyo  is  confused  and  raw.  Its  imitations  of 
Western  ways  are  inharmonious,  and  it  still  holds 
fast  to  much  that  is  unreformed  and  even  heathen- 
ish. But  it  is  the  centre  of  absorbing  interest  to 
all  who  hope  and  believe  in  the  progress  of  hu- 
manity. Can  an  Oriental  people  take  on  the 
civilisation  of  the  West,  learn  its  science,  master 
its  philosophy,  absorb  its  ethical  and  religious 
ideals  and  yet  retain  its  own  peculiarities  so  that 
the  result  shall  be  a new  and  vigorous  creation  ? 
Is  it  possible  with  such  a history  and  with  the 
vast  influence  of  the  ethical  and  religious  environ- 
ments of  thousands  of  years  to  start  upon  a new 
career  which  shall  lead  to  a different  civilisation, 
based  not  upon  fancies  or  introspections,  but  upon 
the  truths  which  science  discovers  and  which 
modern  men  adopt  as  fundamental  ? 

Japan  has  made  a beginning,  and  I have  tried 
to  indicate  what  are  the  forces  which  work  to 
so  great  an  end.  First  of  all,  there  is  the  native 


THE  PALACE  IN  KYOTO. 


Tokyo 


265 


genius,  impressible,  emotional,  eager,  self-confi- 
dent; and  there  are  the  men  of  trained  mind  and 
self-sacrificing  spirit,  accustomed  to  leadership 
and  in  numbers  sufficient  to  direct  all  departments 
of  national  activity,  men  with  the  mind  to  see,  the 
will  to  choose,  and  the  power  to  execute.  Can 
Japan  prove  its  right  to  hold  the  place  it  has  won 
and  to  complete  the  task  it  has  begun?  Time 
only  can  answer,  but  the  achievements  of  the 
present  are  the  promise  for  the  future. 

In  the  past  the  Japanese  appropriated  the  civil- 
isation of  China,  assimilated  it,  and  transformed 
it.  Now  none  mistakes  the  civilisation  of  China 
for  Japan’s,  nor  supposes  the  art  or  literature  or 
institutions  to  be  identical.  The  world  is  richer 
for  the  intelligence  and  zeal  which  made  Japan 
the  willing  pupil  of  its  great  neighbour.  So  shall 
it  be  again, — a new  civilisation  will  replace  the 
old,  its  principles  and  many  of  its  forms  from  the 
West,  but  its  spirit  its  own.  It  cannot  be  merely 
a mechanical  imitation  of  any  other  social  organi- 
sation, a monotonous  and  tiresome  repetition,  but 
it  will  be  a distinctive  growth,  enriching  the  world 
by  adding  to  its  variety.  On  such  an  achieve- 
ment depends  the  future  of  Asia,  for,  as  we  have 
pointed  out,  the  Asiatic  civilisation,  philosophy, 
and  religion  have  run  their  course  and  completed 
their  cycle.  For  their  own  sake  they  need  the 
stimulus  of  contact  with  a different  civilisation,  and 
with  differing  forms  of  truth.  It  is  not  a question 
of  choice  between  two  equal  forms  of  civilisation. 


1 


INDEX 

Ainu,  io,  ii 

Alcock,  Sir  Rutherford,  45 

Arai  Hakuseki,  his  autobiography  descriptive  of  life  in 
Old  Japan,  chap,  x 

Archery,  171 

Artisans,  190,  191 

Artists,  194-197 

Assassination,  169,  182 

Barons  (i dainty o , feudal  lords),  their  origin,  25;  become 
effeminate,  26,  35;  Catholic  barons  engage  in  perse- 
cution and  the  feudal  wars,  28-31;  controlled  by 
Ieyasu,  31,  32;  won  over  to  cause  of  the  Restoration, 
46,  47;  resign  their  fiefs,  48,  49 

Baths,  205,  206,  209  f. 

Beggars,  227 

Book  of  Changes,  94 

Buddhism,  adopted  in  China,  19;  transforms  Japan,  20; 
controlled  education,  22;  its  part  in  the  feudal  wars, 
27;  persecuted  the  Christians,  28;  rejected  by  “gen- 
tlemen,” 34;  its  influence,  62;  Northern  and  Southern 
schools,  63;  Gautama,  63,  69;  Kwannon,  63;  Amida, 
63,  70;  Nikko,  63;  eclecticism,  63;  worship  and  rites, 
64;  sects,  64,  65;  Nirvana,  64,  71;  union  with  Con- 
fucianism, 65;  its  philosophy,  66 f.;  Bodhisattva,  70; 
reincarnation,  70;  temples,  71  f.\  priests,  73,  74;  aes- 
thetics, 74;  union  with  Shinto,  75-77;  rejected  by 
educated  men,  81;  processions  in  Tokyo,  258 

Chamberlain,  Prof.  Basil  Hall,  12,  13 
269 


Index 


270 

China,  its  civilisation,  18;  adoption  of  Buddhism,  19; 
early  influence  on  Japan,  20;  influence  on  feudal 
Japan,  27;  limits  of  its  influence,  40;  at  war  with 
England  and  France,  41 

Chinese  language,  checks  the  development  of  the  Japan- 
ese language,  21;  becomes  embedded  in  the  Japanese 
language,  237,  238;  its  study  the  chief  element  in  the 
older  education,  240;  its  continued  use,  246 

Chinese  philosophy,  adopted  in  the  schools,  33;  sup- 
planted Buddhism  among  “ gentlemen,”  34;  its  teach- 
ing, chap,  vii;  doubted  by  many,  79 

Choshu,  Clan  of,  its  part  in  the  Restoration  of  the 
Emperor,  42-47 

Christianity,  introduced  in  the  sixteenth  century,  28;  ex- 
terminated, 28,  29;  its  part  in  the  Korean  invasion, 
31;  modern  missions,  58-60 

Commerce,  the  want  of  commercial  honour  in,  6,  7,  201; 
feudal  notions  dominate,  196,  197,  200;  merchants 
despised,  198,  199 

Confucianism,  the  religion  of  samurai,  80;  supplants 
Buddhism,  81;  its  problem  and  its  solution,  82,  83; 
righteousness,  84;  attack  on  Buddhism,  85;  the  sage, 
85;  the  “ Way,”  86;  its  schools,  87;  conception  of  the 
State,  88,  89;  of  the  family,  91;  of  the  individual,  91; 
its  triumph,  92;  its  differences  from  the  teaching  in 
China,  93;  its  teachings  as  to  life  and  death,  93-104; 
a sermon  for  the  people,  chap,  viii 

Confucius,  not  an  originator,  18;  quoted,  82,  90,  106,  in; 
87,  88,  170 

Court,  the,  early  accepts  Buddhism,  20;  adopts  Chinese 
civilisation,  23,  24;  loses  control  of  the  Empire,  25,  26; 
in  the  modern  era,  255,  256 

Daimyo , see  Barons 

Dancing,  167 

Dutch,  29,  39 


Index 


271 


Education,  in  ancient  Japan,  14;  controlled  by  priests, 
22;  in  disrepute,  26;  re-established,  33;  described  by 
Arai  Hakuseki,  143;  in  Aidzu,  170,  171;  pedantic, 
240-242;  in  modern  Japan,  246-251 
Emperor  (Mikado,  Son  of  Heaven),  position  in  early 
Japan,  16;  becomes  Son  of  Heaven,  23;  loses  his 
powers,  26,  32;  negotiations  with  foreigners,  43-46; 
worships  at  the  Shinto  shrine,  78;  cult  of,  in  modern 
Japan,  137,  138 
Empress,  262 

Etiquette,  prescribed  bylaw,  34;  its  connection  with  phi- 
losophy, 149 

Europeans  (foreigners),  their  judgments  on  Japan,  chap, 
i;  intercourse  with  Japan  in  the  sixteenth  cent- 
ury, 27;  awaken  Japan,  40  f.\  asked  to  assist  in  the 
Reformation,  53;  compared  with  the  Japanese,  53; 
their  help  in  the  transformation  of  the  Empire,  55/. 
Excursions,  21 1 

Farmers,  184-186 
Fashions,  230-232 
Feudal  honour,  7,  196,  201,  202  J. 

Fishermen,  225 

Fishing,  167;  for  whales,  226 

Gambling,  214 
Gardens,  163-165,  193 

Government,  archaic,  16;  reorganised,  23;  in  the  dark 
ages,  26;  at  the  end  of  the  Tokugawa  period,  39;  its 
struggles,  upon  the  opening  of  Japan,  40-47.  See 
Politics 

Harris,  Townsend,  41-45 
Hepburn,  58 
Hideyoshi,  30 j. 

History,  its  spirit  and  method,  242,  243 


2J2 


Index 


Hizen,  46 

Houses,  156-158,  192,  193 
Hunting,  168 

IEMITSU,  35 
Ieyasu,  31,  34,  35 
Impetuous  Male  Deity,  12 
Inns,  202  f. 

Itagaki,  Count,  53,  178,  261,  262 

Japan,  its  origin,  10;  Japanese  characteristics,  16,  17,  23, 
33,  50,  51;  ambitions,  50-51,  57,  267 
Jimmu  Tenno,  13 
Jiu-riki-sha,  188-190 
Jurisprudence,  23 

Kataoka  Kenkichi,  179,  180 

Kochi,  155,  159 

Korea,  27,  30 

Kyoto,  26,  252,  262 

Kyuso  Muro,  93,  123 

Language,  ii,  233-240 
Liberal  Party,  53 

Life,  disregard  of,  136,  137,  181-183 

Literature,  history,  242,  243;  romance,  243,  244;  poetry, 
244,  245;  modern,  246 
Long-tailed  fowl,  163 

Marriage,  14,  218 f. 

Medicine,  22 

Mencius,  82,  88,  92,  96,  108,  150 
Merchants,  198,  199 
Mikado,  see  Emperor 
Missionaries,  58 f. 

Mongols,  43 


Index 


273 

Morality,  condition  in  ancient  Japan,  14,  15;  in  eleventh 
and  twelfth  centuries,  24;  loyalty  the  chief  virtue,  27; 
illustrations  of  the  ideal,  chap,  ix,  147,  148;  among 
the  peasantry,  187,  188;  of  the  sexes,  215-218 
Mori,  Viscount,  182 
Music,  167 

Names,  family,  220;  personal,  221 
Napoleon,  32 
No,  167,  168 

Okuma,  Count,  182,  261 
Opium,  215 

ParkES,  Sir  Harry,  48 
Peiho  forts,  41 

Perry,  Com.  Calbraith,  35,  40,  41,  45 
Police,  228-230 

Politics,  of  the  Restoration,  42-50;  in  modern  Japan,  52- 
54,  260,  261;  its  absorbing  interest,  178-181 
Polo,  172 

Records  of  Ancient  Matters , 11,  20,  21 
Russia,  39,  40 

Sake,  14,  214 

Samurai , separated  from  the  people,  27;  manage  the  feu- 
dal governments,  35;  constitute  the  learned  class, 
36;  form  the  coalition  against  the  Shogun,  46;  lead 
the  movement  for  foreign  civilisation,  50;  judge 
themselves  the  equals  of  foreigners,  53;  control  mod- 
ern Japan,  54;  the  first  converts  to  Christianity,  59; 
adopt  the  Chinese  philosophy,  80,  81;  the  “Way  of 
the  Samurai ,”  chap,  ix;  life  in  “ Old  Japan,”  chap, 
x;  life  in  “New  Japan,”  chap,  xi ; despise  mer- 
chants, 198;  constitute  the  police  force,  228;  their 
patriotism  and  intelligence  create  New  Japan,  261  ; 
not  distinguished  by  blood  or  caste  from  the  com- 
mon people,  262 


274 


Index 


Sat-Cho-To,  47 

Satsuma,  clan,  its  part  in  the  Restoration,  42-47;  its  re- 
bellion, 52,  260 
Servants,  222  f. 

Shinto,  its  traditions,  chap,  ii;  combined  with  Buddhism, 
21,  76,  77;  attempted  restoration  of,  77;  its  essence, 
77;  its  worship,  78;  reasserts  itself,  137,  138 
Shogun , attains  power  in  twelfth  century,  25;  figure-head, 
26,  34,  39;  Ieyasu  and  the  Tokugawa  line,  31-35; 
difficulties  in  dealing  with  foreigners,  42-45;  over- 
throw of  the  shogunate,  46-49;  Court  of,  145-147; 
character  of  the  fifth  Shogun  of  the  Tokugawa  line, 
147,  148;  attempted  reforms  in  the  reigns  of  his  suc- 
cessors, 148,  149;  Arai  credited  with  the  purpose  of 
making  the  Shogun  supreme,  150 
Shopkeepers,  201  f. 

Sidotti,  Father,  150,  15 1 

Statesmen,  chief  exponents  of  Confucian  ethics,  88; 

compared  with  foreign,  259 
Sword  drill,  169 


Tea  ceremony,  160-162 

Temples,  15,  16,  22,  62-64,  71,  73f  77 

Theatre,  168,  213,  257 

Thieves,  227 

Tokugawa,  see  Shogun 

Tokyo,  chap.  xv. 

Tosa,  46,  47,  53,  155 


Verbeck,  58 
WhaeES,  226 

Wives,  14,  91,  173-178,  218-220,  257 


Index 


275 

Women,  21,  27,  125-128,  142,  182,  185,  186,  188,  215-218, 
249,  262 

Wrestlers,  213  f. 

Xavier,  28,  29 

Yedo,  32,  36,  253 
Yoshiwara,  215 


Our  European  Neighbours 


Edited  by  WILLIAM  HARBUTT  DAWSON 

12°.  Illustrated.  Each,  net  $1.20 
By  Mail 1.30 

I.— FRENCH  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  Hannah  Lynch. 

“ Miss  Lynch’s  pages  are  thoroughly  interesting  and  suggestive. 
Her  style,  too,  is  not  common.  It  is  marked  by  vivacity  without 
any  drawback  of  looseness,  and  resembles  a stream  that  runs 
strongly  and  evenly  between  walls.  It  is  at  once  distinguished  and 
useful.  . . . Her  five-page  description  (not  dramatization)  of  the 
grasping  Paris  landlady  is  a capital  piece  of  work.  . . . Such 
well-finished  portraits  are  frequent  in  Miss  Lynch’s  book,  which  is 
small,  inexpensive,  and  of  a real  excellence.” — The  London  Academy. 

“ Miss  Lynch’s  book  is  particularly  notable.  It  is  the  first  of  a 
series  describing  the  home  and  social  life  of  various  European 
peoples— a series  long  needed  and  sure  to  receive  a warm  welcome. 
Her  style  is  frank,  vivacious,  entertaining,  captivating,  just  the 
kind  for  a book  which  is  not  at  all  statistical,  political,  or  contro- 
versial. A special  excellence  of  her  book,  reminding  one  of  Mr. 
Whiteing’s,  lies  in  her  continual  contrast  of  the  English  and  the 
French,  and  she  thus  sums  up  her  praises:  ‘The  English  are 
admirable : the  French  are  lovable.’  The  Outlook. 

II GERMAN  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  W.  H.  Dawson,  author  of  “ Germany  and  the 
Germans,”  etc. 

“The  book  is  as  full  of  correct,  impartial,  well-digested,  and 
well-presented  information  as  an  egg  is  of  meat.  One  can  only 
recommend  it  heartily  and  without  reserve  to  all  who  wish  to  gain 
an  insight  into  German  life.  It  worthily  presents  a great  nation, 
now  the  greatest  and  strongest  in  Europe.” — Commercial  Advertiser. 

ZM.— RUSSIAN  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  Francis  H.  E.  Palmer,  sometime  Secretary  to 
H.  H.  Prince  Droutskop-Loubetsky  (Equerry  to 
H.  M.  the  Emperor  of  Russia). 

“ We  would  recommend  this  above  all  other  works  of  its  charac- 
ter to  those  seeking  a clear  general  understanding  of  Russian  life, 
character,  and  conditions,  but  who  have  not  the  leisure  or  inclina- 
tion to  read  more  voluminous  tomes.  ...  It  cannot  be  too  highly 
recommended,  for  it  conveys  practically  all  that  well-informed 
people  should  know  of  ‘Our  European  Neighbours.’  "—M^il  and 
Express. 


/ 


Our  European  Neighbours 


IV.  — DUTCH  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  P.  M.  Hough,  B.A. 

“ There  is  no  other  book  which  gives  one  so  clear  a picture  of 
actual  life  in  the  Netherlands  at  the  present  date.  For  its  accurate 
presentation  of  the  Dutch  situation  in  art,  letters,  learning,  and 
politics  as  well  as  in  the  round  of  common  life  in  town  and  city, 
this  book  deserves  the  heartiest  praise.”—  Evening  Post. 

“Holland  is  always  interesting,  in  any  line  of  study.  In  this 
work  its  charm  is  carefully  preserved.  The  sturdy  toil  of  the  people, 
their  quaint  characteristics,  their  conservative  retention  of  old  dress 
and  customs,  their  quiet  abstention  from  taking  part  in  the  great 
affairs  of  the  world  are  clearly  reflected  in  this  faithful  mirror.  The 
illustrations  are  of  a high  grade  of  photographic  reproductions.”— 
Washington  Post. 

V.  — SWISS  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  Alfred  T.  Story,  author  of  the  “Building  of 
the  British  Empire,”  etc. 

“We  do  not  know  a single  compact  book  on  the  same  subject 
in  which  Swiss  character  in  all  its  variety  finds  so  sympathetic  and 
yet  thorough  treatment ; the  reason  of  this  being  that  the  author 
has  enjoyed  privileges  of  unusual  intimacy  with  all  classes,  which 
prevented  his  lumping  the  people  as  a whole  without  distinction 
of  racial  and  cantonal  feeling.” — Nation. 

“There  is  no  phase  of  the  lives  of  these  sturdy  republicans, 
whether  social  or  political,  which  Mr.  Story  does  not  touch  upon ; 
and  an  abundance  of  illustrations  drawn  from  unhackneyed  sub- 
jects adds  to  the  value  of  the  book .” —Chicago  Dial. 

VI.  — SPANISH  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  L.  Higgin. 

“Illuminating  in  all  of  its  chapters.  She  writes  in  thorough 
sympathy,  born  of  long  and  intimate  acquaintance  with  Spanish 
people  of  to-day.”— St.  Paul  Press. 

“The  author  knows  her  subject  thoroughly  and  has  written  a 
most  admirable  volume.  She  writes  with  genuine  love  for  the 
Spaniards,  and  with  a sympathetic  knowledge  of  their  character 
and  their  method  of  life.” — Canada  Methodist  Review . 


Our  European  Neighbours 


VII.— ITALIAN  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  Luigi  Villari. 

“A  most  interesting  and  instructive  volume,  which  presents  an 
intimate  view  of  the  social  habits  and  manner  of  thought  of  the 
people  of  which  it  treats.”— Buffalo  Express. 

“A  book  full  of  information,  comprehensive  and  accurate.  Its 
numerous  attractive  illustrations  add  to  its  interest  and  value.  We 
are  glad  to  welcome  such  an  addition  to  an  excellent  series.” — 
Syracuse  Herald. 


VIII.— DANISH  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  Jessie  H.  Brochner. 

“ Miss  Brochner  has  written  an  interesting  book  on  a fascinat- 
ing subject,  a book  which  should  arouse  an  interest  in  Denmark  in 
those  who  have  not  been  there,  and  which  can  make  those  who 
know  and  are  attracted  by  the  country  very  homesick  to  return.” — 
Commercial  Advertiser. 

“She  has  sketched  with  loving  art  the  simple,  yet  pure  and 
elevated  lives  of  her  countrymen,  and  given  the  reader  an  excellent 
idea  of  the  Danes  from  every  point  of  view.”— Chicago  Tribune. 


IX.— AUSTRO=HUNGARIAN  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND 
COUNTRY 

By  Francis  H.  E.  Palmer,  author  of  “ Russian 
Life  in  Town  and  Country,”  etc. 

“ No  volume  in  this  interesting  series  seems  to  us  so  notable  or 
valuable  as  this  on  Austro-Hungarian  life.  Mr.  Palmer’s  long  resi- 
dence in  Europe  and  his  intimate  association  with  men  of  mark, 
especially  in  their  home  life,  has  given  to  him  a richness  of  experi- 
ence evident  on  every  page  of  the  book.” — The  Outlook. 

“This  book  cannot  be  too  warmly  recommended  to  those:  who 
have  not  the  leisure  or  the  spirit  to  read  voluminous  tomes  of  this 
subject,  yet  we  wish  a clear  general  understanding  of  Austro-Hun- 
garian li ie.”— Hartford  Times. 


Our  European  Neighbours 


X.— TURKISH  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  L.  M.  J.  Garnett. 

“The  general  tone  of  the  book  is  that  of  a careful  study,  the 
style  is  flowing,  and  the  matter  is  presented  in  a bright,  taking 
way.” — St.  Paul  Press. 

“ To  the  average  mind  the  Turk  is  a little  better  than  a blood- 
thirsty individual  with  a plurality  of  wives  and  a paucity  of  vir- 
tues. To  read  this  book  is  to  be  pleasantly  disillusioned.”— Pub  lie 
Opinion. 


XI.— BELGIAN  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  Demetrius  C.  Boulger 

“ Mr.  Boulger  has  given  a plain,  straight-forward  account  of 
the  several  phases  of  Belgian  Life,  the  government,  the  court,  the 
manufacturing  centers  and  enterprises,  the  literature  and  science, 
the  army,  education  and  religion,  set  forth  informingly.”— The 
Detroit  Free  Press. 

“ The  book  is  one  of  real  value  conscientiously  written,  and 
well  illustrated  by  good  photographs.”—  The  Outlook. 


XII.— SWEDISH  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  G.  VON  HeidensTam. 

“As  we  read  this  interesting  book  we  seem  to  be  wandering 
through  this  land,  visiting  its  homes  and  schools  and  churches, 
studying  its  government  and  farms  and  industries,  and  observing 
the  dress  and  customs  and  amusements  of  its  healthy  and  happy 
people.  The  book  is  delightfully  written  and  beautifully  illus- 
trated.”— Presbyterian  Banner . 

“In  this  intimate  account  of  the  Swedish  people  is  given  a 
more  instructive  view  of  their  political  and  social  relations  than  it 
has  been  the  good  fortune  of  American  readers  heretofore  to  ob- 
tain.”— Washington  Even.  Star. 


Our  Asiatic  Neighbours 


12°.  Illustrated.  Each,  net $1.20 
By  mail 1.30 


w 


I INDIAN  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  Herbert  Compton. 

“ Mr.  Compton’s  book  is  the  best  book  on  India,  its  life  and  its 
people,  that  has  been  published  in  a long  time.  The  reader  will 
find  it  more  descriptive  and  presenting  more  facts  in  a way  that 
appeals  to  the  man  of  English  speech  than  nine-tenths  of  the 
volumes  written  by  travellers.  It  sets  forth  the  experiences  of  a 
quarter  of  a century,  and  in  that  period  a man  can  learn  a good 
deal,  even  about  an  alien  people  and  civilization,  if  he  keeps  his 
eyes  open.  If  the  other  volumes  in  the  series  are  as  good  as 
‘ Indian  Life  in  Town  and  Country  ’ it  will  score  a decided  suc- 
cess.”— Brooklyn  Eagle. 

“ An  account  of  nativelife  in  India  written  from  the  point  of  view 
of  a practical  man  of  affairs  who  knows  India  from  long  residence. 
It  is  bristling  with  information,  brisk  and  graphic  in  style,  and 
open-minded  and  sympathetic  in  feeling.  ’ '—Cleveland.  Leader. 


f 


II.— JAPANESE  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  George  William  Knox,  D.D. 

“ The  childlike  simplicity,  yet  innate  complexity  of  the  Japanese 
temperament,  the  strangely  mingled  combination  of  new  and  old, 
important  and  worthless,  poetic  and  commercial  instincts,  aims, 
and  ambitions  now  at  work  in  the  land  of  the  cherry  blossom  are 
well  brought  out  by  Dr.  Knox’s  conscientious  representation.  The 
book  should  be  widely  read  and  studied,  being  eminently  reason- 
able, readable,  reliable,  and  informative.  ’ ’ — Record-Herald. 

“ A delightful  book,  all  the  more  welcome  because  the  ablest 
scholar  in  Japanese  Confucianism  that  America  has  yet  produced 
has  here  given  us  impressions  of  man  and  nature  in  the  Archi- 
pelago. "^Evening  Post. 


Our  Asiatic  Neighbours 


III. — CHINESE  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  E.  Bard.  Adapted  by  H.  Twitcheee. 

Every  phase  of  Chinese  life  is  touched  on,  explained,  and  made 
clear  in  this  volume.  The  nation’s  customs,  its  traits,  its  religion, 
and  its  history,  are  all  outlined  here,  and  the  book  should  be  of 
great  value  in  arriving  at  a better  understanding  of  a people  and  a 
country  about  which  there  has  been  so  much  misconception.  The 
Illustrations  add  greatly  to  the  value  of  the  book. 

IV. — AUSTRALIAN  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  E.  C.  BueEY. 

A bright,  readable  description  of  life  in  a fascinating  and  little- 
known  country.  The  style  is  frank,  vivacious,  entertaining,  cap- 
tivating, just  the  kind  for  a book  which  is  not  at  all  statistical, 
political,  or  controversial. 

V. — PHILIPPINE  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  James  A.  LeRoy. 

Mr.  EeRoy  is  eminently  fitted  to  write  on  life  in  the  Philip- 
pines. He  was  for  several  years  connected  with  the  Department  of 
the  Interior  in  the  Philippine  Government,  when  he  made  a 
special  investigation  of  conditions  in  the  islands.  Since  his  return 
he  has  continued  his  studies  and  is  already  known  as  an  author- 
ity on  the  Philippines.  His  book  gives  a full  description  of  life 
among  the  native  tribes^  and,  also  in  the  Spanish  and  American 
communities. 


t 


